Vinculums Ab Fatum
by MakoEyes13
Summary: Post Chap.161. The Mahora Festival is over and things are back to normal. Until Negi and the girls get attacked by someone from Negi's magi school. With all of the rules changed Negi will go to the limit to protect the ones he loves. But where isthe limit
1. Chapter 1 Ministra No More!

**Summary:** **Post Chapt. 161. it's the day after the Mahora Festival. Chao has been defeated and everything returned to normal but when someone from Negi's magic school attacks him and his partners, all the rules are changed. With the arrival of a new threat and Negi's growing feelings for one of his students; how far will he go to protect them? Multi Pairings. Some should be obvious by the end of this chapter.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Negima. Negima is owned and created by Ken Akamatsu.

**CHAPTER 1: Ministra No More**

"This is it. The official last day of the Mahora Festival."

These were the words of ten year old mage teacher Negi Springfield. His brown eyes stayed drawn to the ceiling of the dorm room he shared with two of his students. He had used his magic to enchant the ceiling above his loft to shine with stars at night. The events that transpired at the Mahora Festival changed his entire life. Everything had been going just fine until the Maho Ultima tournament. He had fun going around and trying out all of the attractions the festival had to offer. Getting to know some of his students better was another benefit of the festival. Setsuna-san, Mana-san, Chachamaru-san, and Yotsuba-san; he never spent much time with them unless it had to do with training or school purposes. It was fun. Even the tournament wasn't too bad. During which he fought his teacher Takahata T. Takamichi and a friend of his fathers, Albireo Imma. Even though Negi lost to Albireo, he gained valuable information on his father. It was after the tournament that brought him the biggest change.

Something happened that he hoped would never happen again. He was once again forced to fight one of his students. He had been betrayed by several of the girls from his own class. At the head of this betrayal was Chao Lingshen, someone that up until now he had thought of as a sweet and harmless girl. Together with Chachamaru, Hakase and Mana; Chao planned to reveal the existence of mages to the world. So many things had been lost and so little gained. All because they didn't share the same beliefs. Somehow Negi, his Ministra, and the rest of the school managed to stop Chao and her mechanical army. But at what cost?

After the battle Chao left them for her own home in the future. Memories of many of the students had to be erased. His battle with Chao had left him both physically and emotionally drained. Negi felt a void inside him from his missing student. However, he had bigger problems to worry about right now. This morning he had a meeting with the other mage teachers to decide what would happen to Chao's accomplices. Revealing the existence of mages to members of the non-magical world was a serious crime. Their punishment would not likely be light. At the time it looked like a good idea to stop Chao, it seemed like the right thing for him to do. Now he wasn't so sure. If he hadn't got involved his students wouldn't be in trouble right now. On the other hand, if he hadn't fought he would be an ermine right about now. All he ever wanted was to be a mage and a good teacher. The gods sure were having fun in keeping him from doing so.

"I have to decide what I'm going to do about the girls," he whispered to himself. "My only question is: Should I be a mage or a teacher? What would Takamichi do?"

Negi turned over on his side. Across the room in the other beds lay his two roommates, Kagurazaka Asuna and Konoe Konoka. Both girls were dozing peacefully, unaware of the new dilemma. He smiled. The two of them were like sisters to him. Negi had stayed with them since his first days in Japan. What would he do if they were the ones on trial? Actually it was probably better not to think about that.

BEEP BEEP BEEP 

Negi glanced down at his watch and groaned. If he wanted any chance of making this meeting he had to wake up now. Pulling himself out of the bed he grabbed his favorite green suit and slid down the ladder. Kamo slept on through the noise. There was no point in waking the ermine yet. Negi hurried into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He stripped off his pajamas and turned on the water in the shower. No meeting had bothered him as much as this one did. He even forgot that he hated to take baths. He stepped under the piping hot water and sighed. It felt so good against his still sore body. After spending nearly a half hour in the shower he stepped out.

Steam covered the small bathroom and fogged up the mirror. Negi changed quickly. His tie was knotted haphazardly around his neck and he missed a couple of buttons on his jacket. He swiped his hand across the mirror in order to check his reflection. Long crimson locks of hair hung down in front of his face. He suddenly felt so much older. Attempting for a neat appearance, he ran a hand through his hair and tied it back. Finally it fell back into its usual messy look. Satisfied he quietly stepped out of the bathroom.

"Unnnh, Negi-kun?"

Negi turned around sharply. Konoka stared at him from her bed. He couldn't help but notice how cute she was when she first woke up.

"Is everything (yawn) alright?"

"Y-yes," he answered quietly. "Sorry Konoka-san. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Then go back to sleep." Asuna growled grumpily.

"I can't. The teachers called an emergency meeting for this morning. I have to go."

"Can't you blow it off?" Asuna asked rolling over on her side.

"No I can't. This meeting is really important. I don't even have time for breakfast."

Konoka sat upright like a bolt of lightning. Her eyes darkened dangerously. "You know it's not good for you to skip breakfast Negi-kun," she scolded. "Besides, you're exhausted." The brunette stood up and began to fix his coat and tie.

"Don't worry Konoka-san. I'll have a big lunch."

"You better."

"… Does this have anything to do with Chachamaru and the others?"

Konoka stopped fidgeting with his buttons and looked him right in the eyes. Negi Looked at Asuna who was staring at him blearily from her bed. "Yes. Were going to decide what will happen to them."

"…It doesn't look too good. But I'll try my best to help them."

"Un. We'll leave it to you Negi-kun."

"Are you ready to go Aniki?" Kamo called from the loft. "We have to hurry or were going to be late."

Negi nodded at the two girls and headed for the door. On his way out he felt Kamo jump down onto his shoulder. The trip to the principal's office was long and uneventful. Neither of them knew what to say to calm the others nerves. Despite Kamo's attitude towards enemies Negi knew that he didn't want the girls to get hurt. It seemed like hours before the duo reached the office. At the end of the hall on the right side sat Chachamaru, Mana, and Satomi. Each one of them looked like they were getting sent to the guillotine.

Standing opposite of them was a small blond haired girl. She was just a little shorter than Negi and her skin was a little pale. Her cold green eyes stared intently at the group of girls in front of her. It looked like she was daring one of the girls to move. Even though she wore one of the school uniforms she looked oddly out of place. Her eyes flickered onto to Negi for a brief second, then flitted back to the girls. Negi walked over and stood next to her, ignoring the glances from his students.

"Glad you could make it bouya," Evangeline greeted irritably.

Negi jumped and turned to face her. "Ah, ugh yes. Good morning master. You aren't in trouble as well are you?" He asked nervously.

"Of course not!" The Shinso sneered. "I had no direct involvement so I'm not in trouble. They want my opinion on the matter."

There was a moment of tense silence in the room. Mana stared hard at the as if she were holding a conversation with it. Satomi looked the most nervous. She was wringing her hands and staring at her shoes. Chachamaru merely looked regretful Negi wondered what happened to be going on in their heads. Were they anxious, nervous, or scared? He wouldn't blame them if they were.

Negi's brown eyes slid over to look at the blond next to him. He wished that she would talk to him. Then again after their kiss he sort of expected they would be nervous around one another. Not to mention the current situation wasn't a comfortable one. Luckily Kamo was there to break the odd silence.

"What do you think will happen to them?" The ermine whispered.

Evangeline noticed Mana tense just a little bit. She wouldn't have been surprised if the demon hunter heard the question. "I think we all know what's going to happen here."

Mana moved back to her original look after hearing this. Negi seemed not to notice her subtle movements or the conversation.

"Master?" Evangeline hummed and turned to face him. "I thank you for the…"

"Don't! You can bow down to me later."

"…Master?"

"Yes Chachamaru?"

The robot glanced nervously at her feet. "What is going to happen to us?"

Evangeline couldn't bear to look Chachamaru in the face. "I don't know," she lied quietly.

"I see. I am sorry master, Negi-sensei."

Before either of them could reply, the doors to the office swung open revealing another girl with bright red hair. Negi recognized the girl as Sakura Mei. She was one of the Ministra Magi in the school. She was dressed in her school uniform making her look like a normal student. The poor girl looked rather nervous.

"Um… they are…they're ready for you." She hurried back into the office, obviously frightened of Evangeline.

Negi looked at his master curiously. Evangeline responded with a shrug saying, "She got bossy with me earlier. So I threatened her."

Both Negi and Kamo shivered. They had both been on the receiving end of Evangeline's threats. Despite her size the girl was scary. Mana was the first person through the door followed closely by Satomi and Chachamaru. Negi and Evangeline followed them closing the door. The principal sat at his desk surrounded by the mage teachers. Takamichi stood off to his right looking supremely calm. To the left were Mei and her senpai, Takane Goodman. Kitaragi (AN: The bearded mage that can shoot beams from his finger.) ordered the four girls to line up in front of the principal's desk. Negi and Evangeline walked over and stood beside Takamichi. An intense burning feeling stirred in his stomach. This was it.

Konoe Konoemon stared at them from his desk. He stood up to address his students. "Principle-sensei, may I make a request?"

"We'd prefer if you wait until the end of session to make all requests." Akashi replied in his calm voice.

"That is alright. Go on Mana-kun, make your request," Konoemon gently urged.

"Arigatou," Mana answered respectfully. "Sir, I have been loyal to you for quite sometime now. I wish for you to not sugar coat anything and get to the point. That is all."

"And this is the wish of you as well?" The girls all nodded. "Very well. As you all know, the crime to commit conspiracy is a very serious one. The punishment will be very harsh. Takamichi-kun, Negi-kun, Evangeline, you know them best. If you wish to say anything on their behalf you may do so, now."

Takamichi cleared his throat and fixed his glasses. "All of them are good students and good girls. It doesn't excuse what they have done, but I would like to point out that their intentions were just. Also they are still just children."

The girls blanched at being called children. However they didn't complain. Every little bit helped.

"Arigatou, Takamichi-kun. Evangeline?"

"I have nothing to say." A second glance at Chachamaru changed her mind. "But on Chachamaru's behalf, she cannot disobey orders from Lingshen or Hakase-san. For obvious reasons." Evangeline avoided eye contact with the robot and stepped back.

"That will be noted as well. What about you Negi-kun?"

Negi stared at the ground hard. A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead. Nothing he could say would make it better for any of them. All eyes were on him, waiting for him to defend his students. "…I have nothing to say," he answered dryly.

Everyone in the room stared at him. Everyone had been shocked into utter silence. Shock showed clearly on Takamichi's face. He expected Negi to say _something _in defense of his students. Satomi and Chachamaru looked hurt at their sensei's apparent lack of concern. Mana also seemed a little upset. But she didn't blame Negi one little bit. He had no reason to help them. The paper shook his head and handed a paper to Gandolfini.

"Very well then. Gandolfini-kun, will you please read them the list?"

The dark skinned mage smiled grimly. "As you already know, revealing the existence of mages is a serious crime. In light of the events we are trying our best to get the sentences reduced. Hakase Satomi-san; not being of the magical world the highest sentence you can receive is life in an ermine camp." Satomi paled, a small 'eeep' escaping her lips. "The best we can do for you is 25 to life. Tatsumiya Mana and Karakuri Chachamaru; having previous involvement in magic, this is considered treason. Treason is punishable only by death or deactivation."

Hakase stared at Mana in shock. She never knew that the demon hunter ran that kid of risk. However, neither she nor Chachamaru complained."

"Sir…I hired Mana and Chachamaru. If it will save their lives I am willing to accept full responsibility for their actions." Hakase offered.

"…Noted," Gandolfini stated. "Now that you understand the charges you will be escorted to the agents outside."

Takane and Mei walked forward, ready for any resistance. "Please follow us."

"NO!" Negi cried, startling them. "I-I do have something to say! Chao-san was released into my custody. I failed to keep her out of trouble. As such, I am obligated to take full responsibility for her, as well as my other students."

"Negi-sensei don't!" Mana said quickly.

"ANIKI! THINK ABOUT THIS!" Kamo shouted.

"BAKA BOUYA!" Evangeline tackled him to the ground and straddled his chest.

"Negi-kun what are you suggesting?" Seruhiko asked.

"I suggest that Mana-kun and the others be released into Negi-kun's custody," Takamichi suggested.

Everyone looked at Takamichi as though he had grown a second head. All except for Negi. He was on the ground being choked by Evangeline. This went largely unnoticed by the rest of the room.

"Are you sure about this Takamichi-kun?" Mitsuru asked. The portly mage shifted his gaze to Negi. "You remember what happened the last time."

"I'm very sure. As long as Negi-kun and the rest of the teachers agree." Takamichi turned to the scene on the floor and sweat dropped. "Eva, can you give Negi enough time to respond?"

Evangeline glared at him but let go of her apprentice. "Fine. We can finish this later." She climbed off of Negi and dusted herself.

Takane and Mei helped him back to his feet. He rubbed his neck with his hand. He began to shake from his master's glare. Once he got himself under control he nodded.

"Sounds good," he said in a raspy voice.

Konoemon nodded. "Very good. Of course this decision has to be unanimous."

Kitaragi gave him a non committal nod and continued to smoke his cigarette. Seruhiko, Mitsuru, Mei and Takane all gave enthusiastic thumbs up. The only ones that didn't respond were Evangeline and Gandolfini.

"Huh? Oh, I don't care what you do with them," Evangeline sighed. She wouldn't admit that she was happy to have Chachamaru stay.

"And what about you Gandolfini-kun?"

Gandolfini looked at the dean then back at the accused girls. He sighed and fixed his glasses. "I would rather not ruin such promising young lives." He smiled at them.

Chachamaru and Satomi smiled in relief. The young scientist had to fight the urge to shout for joy. Mana simply smirked at them. Konoemon smiled and addressed them once again.

"Takane-kun, please go inform the mages that they are no longer needed."

"Yes sir." The blond saluted and hurried from the room.

"Now of course," he began, "some form of punishment is required. So listen carefully. Mana-kun all of your weapons will be confiscated. You are banned from the Biathlon and combat for a period of one month."

Mana grimaced. She hated to have her weapons taken from her. "I understand," she said reluctantly.

"Good. Satomi-kun you are banned from all club activities as well as the various campus labs."

Banned from the labs! Satomi looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown. She had been about to agree when a thought occurred to her. "P-Principal-sensei, you can't ban me from the labs completely. Chachamaru needs occasional diagnostic checkups."

Konoemon stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I see. Then on these occasions one of the mage teachers will escort you to and from the labs. Your punishment is also for a month. Agreed?" Satomi nodded happily. "Chachamaru, you are banned from combat as well as your club activities for a full month."

"Understood." She bowed slightly at the waist.

"Now for you Negi-kun."

Negi gulped and nodded. "Ye-Yes!"

"Under no circumstances are you allowed to use magic for a full month. Do you understand?"

Negi nodded solemnly. Evangeline looked a little angry at this. "I-I understand."

"Evangeline I want you to enforce this punishment."

"Yeah, yeah." She waved her hand at him airily. "I'll get you for meddling with us old man," she whispered.

"What was that Eva?"

"Nothing Takamichi." _"Your next!!!!"_

"Well it is almost time for classes to start. So does anyone have something to add? No? Okay, dismissed." The teachers and students began to file out of the room. "Negi-kun?"

"Yes?" He asked wheeling around.

"Make me proud."

Negi gulped and gave the dean a nod. He hurried out of the office and pulled the doors closed behind him. As soon as he turned around Satomi swooped down on him. She held the young teacher tightly in her arms, nuzzling his cheek with hers.

"I knew Negi-sensei would help us!" She squealed happily.

"And you're damn lucky to!" Evangeline scoffed. "I was pushing for the death penalty!"

Satomi looked at Evangeline but didn't let go of Negi. "Come on Evangeline you know you would miss us."

"Not likely."

Negi smiled at the banter between his students. "Alright everyone. Class begins soon, so go and get ready."

Satomi thanked him again and ran off. Chachamaru bowed in her usual polite manner. "Arigatou Negi-sensei."

"Come on Chachamaru. We have to get ready."

"Yes master." Chachamaru followed dutifully after her master. "Master really does care about us!"

"AH! Baka robot!" Evangeline cried rounding a corner. "WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT THAT?"

Negi chuckled and started to follow after them. At least some things hadn't changed. A hand closed around his arm holding him in place. A cold chill ran down his spine. Mana stared down at him with icy blue eyes. For some reason he always got the impression that she was going to kill him. Brown eyes stared into pale blue for what seemed like forever.

"Why?" Mana whispered.

"E-excuse me," he stammered.

"Why did you stick up for us? We betrayed you. The decision to help us makes no sense."

Negi smiled at her. "What kind of teacher would I be if I didn't help you? Besides, you don't need a reason to help someone." 

Mana's face lit up in surprise. A memory from long ago stung at her heart and made her look sad. "Tatsumiya-san? Are you alright?"

Mana shook her head and glanced back at Negi. He looked really concerned. "Don't worry I'll be fine." Her voice was back to its silky quality. "I better go and get ready for class."

Negi watched her go with a frown. It was obvious that she was bothered by something. Knowing her, she would take it to the grave.

"Aniki!" Kamo tapped him hard on the head. "Shouldn't the teacher get to class before the students?"

"I guess so."

"Aniki?"

"I'm fine Kamo-kun. Come on!"

"MADE IT!" Negi exclaimed.

He threw open the door and walked in. The girls were already in their seats and chatting animatedly. "Blew it!" Kamo whispered.

Negi sighed and walked over to his desk. This day just kept getting worse and worse.

"Everyone!" Ayaka stood up to gain the classes attention. "Everyone stand! Bow." The class did as they were told. "Be seated."

Negi waited for the class to sit back down. "Good morning everyone!" He greeted enthusiastically.

A resounding, "Good morning!" Came from the class

Negi smiled. His gaze drifted over to Asuna who was half asleep at her desk. He shook his head. "Okay everyone. Talk amongst yourselves but listen for the roll call!" he grabbed his class roster and rifled through it. "Sayo-san!"

"Here!" The ghost girl called cheerfully.

"Kazumi-san!"

"Yo!" The paparazzi smiled and flashed him a peace sign.

Negi continued to call roll one by one. Finally he reached student #12 Ku Fei. When he came into the room he noticed that she wasn't there. She always came to class.

"Has anyone seen Ku Fei-san?" He asked the class.

Everyone shrugged but Setsuna raised her hand. "She said that she's not feeling well, Negi-sensei."

"I see. Arigatou, Setsuna-san." _"I hope she's going to be okay." _Negi continued to call roll. When he reached Chao's name his face fell. He actually almost called her name out and had to mentally kick himself. Eventually he called the last person on the roll, Zazie, stood again to address the class. "Alright everyone, settle down. Now I know everyone is still excited after the festival. But we have o get back to class."

There was a groan throughout the class that made him smile. The Narutaki twins even gave a dramatic wail of doom. Negi raised his hands up in defense. "We have to get back to class," he stated again. "But today is not the day." This time there was a cheer from the students. "So here's the plan. I think everyone needs to cool off after what's happened. I'm going to hand out the tests we took before the festival. After that it's a free period!"

"Yahoo!" Makie cheered.

"Looks like it's a good thing I forgot my books!" Sakurako laughed.

After all the tests were handed out Negi returned to his desk. He decided to leave the girls to their own devices for the day. He needed some time to think things over. His battle with Albireo, Chao, his punishment, and now Ku Fei's absence all had him on edge.

Asuna looked over her paper at Negi. She had passed the test (barely) but she worried about her teacher. She wondered if his current mood had anything to do with the events of the festival.

"Oi, Konoka Setsuna-san?" Konoka pushed her fortune telling deck to the side and glanced at the red head. Setsuna stopped looked up from the paper that she had been absently drawing on. "Do you guys notice anything wrong with Negi?"

Konoka nodded vigorously, her hair flying into Setsuna's face. "Now that you mention it. I just thought it was because of the teachers meeting he had."

Setsuna pushed Konoka's hair out of her face. "He's probably worried about Ku Fei."

"Oh! Secchan, is she going to be alright?" Konoka asked worriedly.

Setsuna looked around and beckoned them closer. "She told me she was sick. But I think she really misses Chao-san."

"Makes sense." Asuna nodded. "Those two were best friends."

"Kagurazaka!"

The three girls turned around. Standing over them was Chisame. The net idol looked rather annoyed by something. "Did you get this on your paper to?"

Asuna looked at Chisame's paper. In the upper right hand corner, were the words, **'See me after class'**, written in red ink. Asuna looked at her paper and saw the same words. Setsuna and Konoka saw the words on their papers as well.

"What could he want to see me about? I got an 80 on the test," Chisame griped.

"We all have it on our papers." Setsuna looked around the room. Kaede looked confused by something also. "I think Kaede has one too."

"Maybe it has something to do with the festival." Konoka offered helpfully.

"Great! Just when I thought I was finished, they pull me back in!" Chisame growled dramatically.

Asuna once again took to staring at Negi. _"Negi. If you're having trouble, why don't you come to me?" _once again she felt that sinking feeling that he didn't trust her. A hand on her shoulder jolted her from her reverie. She found herself staring directly into Konoka's smiling face.

"Don't worry Asuna. I'm sure Negi-kun is going to be fine."

Asuna glared at her but blushed. "I'm not worried about that little brat! He could get hit by a bus for all I care!"

And so the class carried on like that. Once the bell rang the girls filed out in their hasty manner; offering their teacher a quick goodbye. The class filed out until it was only his followers left. Negi quickly shut the door. He didn't want anyone to hear what he had to say. The girls stared at him, waiting for him to start.

Negi cleared his throat. "Please, just listen to me. And don't interrupt until I finish." He felt extremely nervous, but this had to be said. "I want to thank you all for sticking by my side during the festival…I couldn't have done it without you." He had to put his hand up to stop them from responding. Taking a deep breath he said, "That's why I'm going to give you a choice. Things could still get dangerous for you. If any of you want to leave, I won't blame you. I can end a Pactio, so it's all up to you."

The girls were stunned into silence. Eventually, Haruna was the first one to come to her senses. "Negi-kun, do you not want us to help you anymore?" She asked dejectedly.

Negi waved his arms frantically. "N-N-No! I didn't mean it like that." 

"Are you sure about that sensei?" Everyone's eyes turned on Chisame. She stood against the wall with her arms across her chest. "I mean you never wanted our help in the first place. Right? I can't believe I was foolish enough to help you." She grabbed her bag off the desk and stormed angrily from the room. 

"Chisame-san!"

Asuna waved her hand. "I'm gonna go and talk to her." The redhead leapt up from her seat to chase after Chisame. She bolted out the door just in time to catch her. "Wait, Chisame-chan! Where are you going?!"

Without turning around she said, "I'm going home. You should do the same."

"But why? After all you've done for Negi, why abandon him? Why now?"

Chisame turned her head to glare at Asuna. "I did what I did out of pity. Also, I wanted my normal world back. Besides, it was a mistake to help him at the festival. He wasn't even sure he believed in what he was doing."

"Negi wasn't thinking like that!" Asuna said. She was a little louder than she meant to be.

"Really? Why don't you ask him then?" Asuna lowered her fists. To be honest she was afraid to ask. "Thought so. You may think that the nine of us are special, but we aren't. Girls like you, me, and Miyazaki don't belong in his world. You know it's true."

"Why are you so damn difficult?!"

"Am I being difficult or realistic? Think about it."

Asuna watched the brunette walk away. Maybe Chisame was right. After all, she failed to protect Negi on several occasions. Maybe they weren't meant for that world after all. Numb with shock she walked back to the classroom. Negi turned to face her, his face dropping. It didn't look like it went to well.

"Wh-what did Chisame-san say?" Nodoka stammered.

Asuna shook her head. "She, ugh, she wants some time to think about it," she lied quickly.

"I guess that's fair enough." Negi didn't really believe her. "What about the rest of you?"

"I told you that if you ever need me to call. I still believe in Negi-bozu. I want to see you get stronger.-De Gozaru." Kaede smiled warmly at him. Negi smiled back.

Haruna nodded. "I get to help a cute mage save the world. I actually get to live a manga. You better believe I'm staying."

"That's a good reason," Yue said sarcastically. She was drinking another of her odd flavored drinks. "I also believe in Negi-sensei. I want to do anything to help." She blushed slightly.

Nodoka smiled brightly. "I don't know how much help I can be. B-but I want to help sensei. Even if it's just for a little while!" Like Yue, she also blushed.

"AHHaHa!" You always get so dramatic Negi-kun! Why would we want to leave?" Konoka asked, patting him on his head.

"Ojou-sama," Setsuna shook her head. Sometimes Konoka didn't get the picture. She walked up to Negi and placed Yuunagi against the desk. "I stand by what I said at the festival. I'll always be here." She bowed slightly at the waist.

Kamo smirked at her. This in turn earned him a death glare. He shrank back, and then turned to Asuna. "That just leaves Ane-san."

"A-Asuna-san?" Negi was nervous about her more than anything. He didn't know what he would do without Asuna to help him.

Asuna looked at him curiously. _"He looks so nervous. No! I do belong in this world. I have to protect him. No matter how much of a brat he is." _Asuna glared back at him. "Of course I am! You already dragged me into everything! I can't leave a brat like you on your own!" 

Negi fixed his glasses, blinking back the tears. These girls really were something special. To be a great mage you needed great partners. If that's true then he was going to be the greatest.

"Thank you everyone! I'll try my best to!"

"You need to relax to," Konoka advised.

"That's right! Make sure you show up to the party at Eva-san's resort later," Haruna said evilly.

"Masters having a party?"

Asuna smirked. 'She is. She just doesn't know it yet."

The girls began to chat excitedly about the party. Negi smiled. He was lucky to have met them all.

"Isn't this great Aniki? A party and all of our Ministra, well almost all, are going to stay."

Negi nodded but his smile faded. "Yeah."

"Uh oh. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just a little worried about Ku Fei-san."

"…Yeah me too."

Negi smiled again. He had an idea. "I think I know where she might be! Kamo-kun, go back to the dorms with Asuna-san." He set the ermine on the table and ran for the door.

"Where are you going Negi-kun?" Konoka asked.

"I just remembered something!" He called running out of the door. All he needed now was to find Ku Fei.

Ku Fei sat on the edge of the schools roof, watching the sunset. Since Chao left the young Chinese girl felt horrible. Normally this kind of thing didn't bother her. This time she felt like she lost a sister. A demented, genius, Martian sister, but a sister none the less. A part of her hated Chao for what she did to them. Another part, wanted her to come back. That just wasn't going to happen. She had to face that fact. That's why she came up to the roof. This was the only place where she could be alone to think.

"The sunsets really pretty up here." Ku Fei leapt to her feet and spun around. She dropped her guard instantly. "I thought you would be up here."

"How did you know?"

"I remember you telling me during training one time that you liked to come up here to think," Negi said with a friendly smile. "Mind If I join you?"

Ku Fei smiled and sat back down on the edge of the roof. Having Negi here wouldn't be too bad. She could use the company after all. She patted the ground next to her in an inviting fashion. Negi sat down and lay back on the roof, to stare at the clouds. He could barely feel Ku Fei's eyes on him.

"You weren't in class today," he said suddenly.

Ku Fei jumped at the sudden statement. "Yeah…I-I should have come… b-but I d-d-didn't…" she stuttered terribly the trailed off.

"Don't worry. I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?" She asked aghast.

"Of course not." He gave her a dazzling smile. "You don't have the best grades in the class but you never miss a day. When you didn't show up I was worried about you."

"Really?" Her facial expression slackened. "That's sweet. I am a little sick."

"That's what Setsuna-san told me. But she thinks the real reason, is that you miss Chao-san."

"I don't miss her."

"Really?"

"Yes." Negi showed her his best 'I don't believe you' face. Ku Fei shifted nervously. She wasn't getting out of this one. "Okay, maybe I do," she succeeded. "Chao was my first real friend and my best friend. So when she betrayed us I was really hurt. Then when the fight was over, I though things would go back to the way they were. Then she just left. It's like I lost a sister."

Negi could see the tears building in her eyes. He hated it when girls cried. "I had to leave my best friend to." That came out so suddenly that it surprised both of them.

"…What happened?"

"When we graduated from Meridiana we got sent to different places for our training. She's back in London and I got sent here. I didn't think I could make it without her, but here I am."

"I just miss her."

"Yeah. This is going to sound corny. But if you remember her you won't lose her."

Ku Fei chuckled. "That was corny. I guess you're right though."

"I'm a teacher I have to be right." They laughed again and Ku Fei gave him a genuine smile. He stood up and dusted himself off. "Until I gets better you just need help." He offered her a hand. "Don't forget that you have friends who care about you. And you can always come to me. I'll help you as best as I can."

Ku Fei let him pull her to her feet. "Thank you Negi-bozu." She ruffled his hair playfully.

Negi mock glared at her. "Come on. The others are downstairs waiting for us. We don't want to be late for the party."

"Party! Yahoo!" She cheered excitedly. She jumped up in the air, and then ran for the access door.

Negi shook his head and turned to watch the evening sky. A strange feeling told him that everything was going to be okay. Even his worries about becoming a Magister Magi left him. He had all he needed right here. He just had to concentrate on becoming a good teacher for now.

"NEGI-BOZU! HURRY UP!"

"Yeah, everything's going to be fine."

END CHAPTER

**Please Review. Constructive criticism preferred but flames also welcome. Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2 I Want It More: Part I

**Authors Rant: First of all I'd like to thank everyone who read 'Vinculums Ab Fatum'. Even thought I think it was only one person! Oh well! Anyways I better stop talking before I go on a tangent. Here's the second chapter. Enjoy!**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

Disclaimer: Negima was created and written by Ken Akamatsu. Please don't sue me. All I have is a pair of pants and a bag of mini marshmallows. Ok….half a bag.

**CHAPTER 2: Because I want It More!**

"Aniki, are you okay?"

Negi slowly opened one eye then the other. Kamo sat on his chest, staring back at him in concern. The mage smiled at his 'little brother.' The returned his gaze to the ceiling.

"I'm alright Kamo-kun. I'm just thinking about how nice it's going to be to go to the party at masters."

"So everything is fine with Ku-teacher then?"

"Good! I was worried about her for a minute!"

"You mean you were worried about losing her firepower?"

Kamo pulled a face of mock indignation. "Aniki…I'm a little insulted."

"Riiighhhtt. Don't worry, she decided to stay to."

"Did you really want her to leave?" No answer came from the young mage. "Like I thought. Anyways, about the party."

"Hm? What about it?"

"Providing Evangeline doesn't kill us for this," he shivered, "I think it would be a good idea for you to change."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Negi asked innocently.

"Nothing. It's just that you always wear a suit. Some casual clothes would be a nice change."

Negi shrugged. "If you say so."

"Yes. I think it would be a good idea. Come on, you need to protect your image in front of the ladies!"

"What kind of image do you think I have with girls?" He asked in amusement.

"He's right Negi!" When did Asuna, Konoka, and Setsuna come back? "For a ten year old brat, you sure have a lot of girls following you." Asuna smirked.

Konoka giggled. "And Asuna is one of them."

"I AM NOT!"

"I think Konoka-Ojou-sama means as a big sister."

"Secchan, don't call me Ojou-sama!" Konoka whined.

"Sorry, force of habit."

Negi looked at the girls, his eyes lighting up with little stars. He had never seen them look so cute. Asuna was wearing a white blouse with a blue floral print, a white knee length skirt, and a pair of sandals. Konoka chose a sleeveless white shirt, a pair of drawstring capris, and her usual sneakers. Negi thought that Setsuna looked particularly cute in her light blue babydoll-style jumper, with a white blouse underneath. She still wore her nekomimi. Negi was sure that was Konoka's doing. Maybe changing wasn't such a bad idea.

* * *

"Is this good enough Kamo-kun?"

They were making their way through the forest to Evangeline's cottage. Negi had changed into a reddish orange long sleeved shirt, a pair of black pants and his loafer style shoes. A black vest and his beret style hat completed the outfit.

"Yes! Looking good Aniki! The girls won't be able to keep their hands off of you!"

"That's what I'm afraid of." He groaned.

"Negi-kun, hurry up!"

"Yeah, stop lagging behind!"

Negi turned his head to look at the girls. They were already walking inside the cabin. He jogged after them, finally catching up with them on the stairs. The basement was as dark and creepy as ever. Dolls of all shapes and sizes loomed from the shadows. Negi always found the dolls to be a little creepy. Then again he thought it was cute that his master collected them.

"Ah! I found it!"

Asuna smiled happily at the glass container on the table. Inside the container was what appeared to be a model of a small villa? Negi placed his hand on the glass dome. The others followed his example. A minute later they were engulfed by a bright white light. It made a humming sound; not unlike the sound of static energy. It felt as though they were floating in a vast expanse of nothingness. After what seemed like minutes, it was only a few minutes, they touched down on solid grounds.

Negi opened his eyes and took a deep breath. As he expected, it was warm in the alternate dimension. He loved it here though. He could smell the salty air of the surrounding ocean, feel the cool breeze, and hear…the sound of death threats from up ahead.

"I think Evangeline found out about the party." Setsuna smiled.

"I knew this was bad idea!" Negi groaned. He took off over the narrow bridge hoping to stop the bloodshed.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Evangeline shouted.

Who did these bakas think they are? Coming into her villa without her permission. And to have a party no less! Hell, the only reason they survived this long was because Chachamaru kept her from killing them. She rubbed her temples in frustration. Why her? She opened her eyes and smiled.

"Bouya!" The petite Shinso strode up to him, giving her best death glare. "What is the meaning of this? Get these bakas out of my villa! NOW!"

Negi rubbed the back of his head nervously, definitely a bad idea. "Ma-master! Sorry! They just kind of took it upon themselves." He laughed nervously.

"Master, just let me kill them!" Came a tiny but excited voice. Chachazero held a blade twice her size in one hand and a scythe in the other. "It'll be easy. Like killing a fish!"

Evangeline smiled at the sadistic puppet. "Maybe later Chachazero."

"Awwwwwwwwwwww!"

"So bouya, are you going to make them leave. Or do I have to." She asked baring her fangs.

Before Negi could answer Haruna walked up and placed an arm around Evangeline. "Eva-san can we talk?"

"Don't touch me." Evangeline did follow the artist to the side.

Negi didn't know what they were talking about, but when they came back Evangeline was blushing. She glared at everyone for a second

"You all can stay if you want," she grumbled.

"Ah! Thank you Eva-chan!" Konoka squealed.

'Humph!' Evangeline stalked off. He black evening dress swaying slightly. "Just don't mess the place up!" She called over her shoulder.

"What did you say to her Paru-nee-san?" Kamo asked. He was impressed with her now.

"Oh, no need to worry about that," Haruna said mysteriously. She winked at Negi before returning to Nodoka and Yue.

"I wonder what that was about." Negi wondered aloud.

"Don't worry about it Negi. C'mon, the others are probably in the courtyard." Asuna ran ahead of him her skirt flailing. "I'm really hungry!"

"There's food in the courtyard?"

Setsuna smiled. "We talked Chachamaru-san into making food for the party."

Negi followed after them wondering how they managed to accomplish that. He was greeted enthusiastically by Nodoka. She immediately engaged him in a conversation. Negi tried to keep his mind on the conversation, but his thoughts were somewhere else. It was only when Yue joined in the conversation that he snapped out of his reverie.

Walking into the courtyard he immediately noticed a change in the scenery. Torches lined the entire circular court, giving it a feeling of intimacy. Tall ivory pillars cast their shadows out over the torch lit grounds. In the middle of the courtyard sat two, long rectangular tables. Eloquent roses were carved into the beautifully polished wood and ivy seemed to decorate the entire area. Situated atop the tables were various fancy looking foods on silver platters. Candles had been placed into empty wine bottles and placed on the tables. It didn't look like the kind of party the girls would plan.

"Wow, everyone's here."

Evangeline sat at one the tables, taking dainty sips from a glass of red liquid. Negi had a sneaking suspicion that the red liquid wasn't wine. Over at one of the pillars, Hakase was chatting with Chachamaru and her maniacal puppet counterpart. The people he least expected to see at the party were Takane and Mei. The two of them stood at the opposite end of the courtyard. Seeing as how they didn't know anyone, they looked a little uncomfortable. Asakura and Sayo stood with them, trying to get them to talk. He spotted Ku Fei and Kaede on the right side of the courtyard. Mana was with them, leaning against a pillar, preferring to keep to herself. Ku Fei caught his eye and waved to him energetically.

Negi smiled and waved back. He was glad that she was feeling better. He turned around to ask Asuna something but she was gone. All of them had left to go and mingle. Negi sighed in a defeated manner.

"Well it's not so bad," Kamo soothed. "At least we know Evangeline isn't going to try and kill us."

"Heh heh. I guess that's true. Hey Kamo-kun, is that Chisame-san?" Negi said, pointing to the second table.

"That is her. I thought Chisame-nee-san didn't want to have anything to do with us?"

"So did I. Lets go talk to her?"

"Nah. You go ahead. I want to go find Chachazero. I'll see you later."

"Um, okay." Kamo hopped off of his shoulder and bounced towards Chachazero. "I wonder why he gets along with her so well. Chisame-san?!" He waved to her. Chisame glanced his way and shuddered. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Pfft! The only reason I'm here is because they forced me to come." She jerked her thumb in the direction of the Library Club.

"Oh," he replied, a little crestfallen. "S-so, are you ugh, working on your website."

"Trying to." Chisame glared at her notebook. "I can't get a damn connection in here!"

"We can help with that."

Negi and Chisame turned around. Hakase hadn't changed out of her school uniform and Chachamaru was dressed in her maids outfit.

"Good evening Hakase-san, Chachamaru-san."

"Hello Negi-sensei."

"Good evening Negi-sensei." Chachamaru bowed in her polite manner.

"Chachamaru-san, did you really make all of this food. It looks delicious!"

"Th-thank you Negi-sensei." She replied sheepishly. Hakase smiled at her 'daughter's' reaction. "It was hard to keep this a secret from master though."

"That's all well and good, but how in the hell can you help me?!"

Hakase turned an excited eye onto Chisame. "Chachamaru has a wireless internet connection, not to mention various USB ports. If you hook your PC up to her, you should be able to get a signal." She said proudly.

"Well I'll leave you guys to it then. Just have fun!"

"Yeah right. Alright, let's see what you got robot-girl."

Negi sighed. He had hoped Chisame would show up, but he wanted her in a better mood. Next up was Mei and Takane. He spent most of the festival fighting against them. He never got the chance to thank them for helping.

"Negi-sensei!" Sayo waved cheerfully.

Asakura turned her head and smiled. "Hey Negi-kun! Listen, I wanted to apologize. I never should have helped Chao. Sorry!"

Negi shook his hand at her. "Don't worry about it. I'm not mad."

"Arigatou Negi-kun! Does this mean we can still be your managing team?"

"I wouldn't want anyone else."

"YAY!" Sayo squealed happily.

"Come on Sayo-chan! Let's go tell Kamo-chi!"

Negi watched the happy girls retreat with a smile. "OH! Takane-san! Mei-san!"

"Yes, Negi-sensei?" Mei asked. She always seemed so polite.

"I wanted to thank you for helping me at the festival. I didn't really get the chance before."

Takane smiled at him, the first time from her. "Don't worry about it. It was our job after all. Besides we were impressed by your battle skills."

"Oh, well I didn't…"

"NEGI!"

"AH!" Negi leapt forward grabbing onto Takane.

"HEY, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GRABBING!"

"Huh? WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Realizing exactly where his hands were, Negi jumped back. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He cried.

"Wow Negi. I didn't think you were that forward with girls."

Negi turned around, tears flowing from his eyes in a comic fashion. "K-K-Kotarou-kun that was mean!" He whined.

"Yeah, but it was funny!" Kotarou grinned wolfishly and flashed him a thumbs up. "Hey nee-sans"

"Oh! You're the boy that I fought during the tournament!" Mei exclaimed. "Thanks for going easy one me!"

"No problem. I have a 'No Hitting Girls Policy!'

"Ooooh! I see now."

Kotarou talked to Mei while Negi tried to apologize to Takane. I wasn't going well. Tonight was going to be a long night after all.

* * *

"So that's how it was!"

Negi laughed. The party had been going on for only a couple of hours now. He hadn't seen Kamo, since the little ermine ran off, but that was okay. He was having fun just hanging out with his students and friends. He had found himself in an odd little group. Kotarou was telling stupid jokes to make Mei and the other laugh. He himself had lapsed into conversation with them and Evangeline. He was glad that even Evangeline seemed to enjoy herself.

"So bouya, how exactly did you beat Lingshen."

Negi lowered his cup and stared at her. "I-I don't understand. Weren't you watching the fight?"

"Un!" She nodded. "But I want to know exactly how you did it."

"Well, she pushed herself too far. Her body was covered in magic seals."

"Magic seals? So that's how she did it."

"Yep. Anyways she overdid it and one of the symbols on her forehead burst. I guess I just got lucky." He finished sheepishly.

"Her magic was still stronger than yours. For you to hold out as long as you did was mildly impressive."

Negi smiled. Compliments, no matter how small, came far and few between fro his master. "Arigatou master!"

"Oi, Eva-chan!"

"What do you want now Kagurazaka?" Evangeline asked in exasperation.

"Weeellllll, we were wondering if you could put on some music." Asuna asked in her best pouting tone.

Evangeline opened up one eye to look at Asuna, Konoka and Ku Fei. "Sorry no."

"Why not?-Aru?" Ku Fei whined.

"I don't have the kind of music that you girls would like. I'm not into the techno music crap."

"What kind of music do you have?" Konoka asked.

"On, hand? Classical."

"Well then play it," Asuna ordered. Evangeline glared daggers at the redhead. "Er, uh, I mean please. We need some kind of music."

Evangeline sighed. "If it will get you away from me." Faint strands of energy swirled around her small hand. With a simple wave it started.

The sound of gentle strings filled the entire resort. The soft melody was soon followed by a piano and the sound of light bass instruments.

"It really was on hand!" Konoka giggled.

"It's a pretty song.-Aru. What is it?"

"Beyond someone of your limited brain capacity."

The girls glared back at Evangeline. Negi took this chance to diffuse the hazardous situation. "It's Pachabel's Canon. In D minor, right."

"Impressive bouya. You have an ear for music."

"Is there anything you don't know?" Ku Fei asked.

"Now that you mention it…no." He responded brightly.

* * *

Mana stared out at the moonlit waters of the ocean. For an artificial environment this was a nice place. The cool breeze caressed her warm skin, calming her mind. She remembered that she used to do this a long time ago. When she was partnered to her mage he would often take her for walks on the beach. She would never admit just how much she missed him. He was the only person that ever really cared about her. And even though he was a few years older than her, she loved him. She never was sure if he loved her in return but it didn't matter. It was the nights like these that she could see his face so clearly.

"If you want a rematch, you'll have to wait for a month." Her words sounded faint against the oceans waves.

"Not everything in life is about fighting."

"No, the other half is about money."

"How about a drink?"

Mana looked at the cup of sake. Then down at her feet. "I'm not a big drinker."

"It's only half sake."

Mana cautiously took the drink and nodded in thanks. "So why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the party with the others?"

"Well, I turned around and you were gone. I thought maybe you blew us off."

"…Might as well. I hate parties." Mana sipped her drink.

"So then all you like is fighting and money?"

"…."

"Sounds lonely."

"What would you know about?" Mana growled angrily. Normally her self-control was perfect. But she started to get annoyed with her companion. "What if that's all I have?" She asked in her monotone.

"What about friends?"

"I don't need them," she answered coldly. She gulped down the rest of her drink and set the glass down in the sand. "From the day were born we start dieing. There's nothing we can do about it. Life is painful and you only have yourself. Until you see that…you're just drifting aimlessly."

Mana turned her back and walked away down the beach.

"Maybe you'll change your mind one day.-De Gozaru." The ninja stared up at the starlit sky. Loneliness is a tragedy that no one should face.

* * *

"Thank you again master!" Negi said, bowing down. "I know it was a burden."

"Well I got paid. So it wasn't a total loss." Evangeline stared hungrily at the arm she had already bitten into.

"Y-Yeah. Thanks for not taking too much."

The party had lasted for several hours, only ending because everyone had gotten tired. Now he was in Evangeline's room to give her payment. They planned to stay at the villa and get some sleep before going back. Evangeline even had extra futons set up for them, though they would still have to share. In her words, "She didn't want to deal with any moron, drop-ins." But Negi wondered if she was trying to be nice.

"Yawwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnn."

Negi looked at Evangeline sprawled asleep on her bed. "Good night master." He smiled and drew the covers over her.

"I'll suck him…dry," she mumbled in her sleep.

Negi sweat dropped and hurried from the room. She was even scary in her dreams. He walked for awhile, wishing Chachamaru's various Onee-sans a goodnight. Finally he reached the room where he and the girls were staying. It was the same high ceiling room that they always stayed in. The only difference now was that several futons lined the room. The futons were blue in color and could fit at least two people.

The girls were already in the room getting ready for bed. Mana, Takane and Mei all left after the party was over. Kotarou followed suit, saying that he couldn't allow girls to walk home alone in the dark. He also didn't want to worry Chizuru or Natsumi. So if they shared there should be enough for everyone.

"Hey, where's Sayo-san and Asakura-san?"

"They said something about exploring," Yue informed him. "But I think they went looking for a news story."

"Ha Ha Ha! That wouldn't surprise me. Alright everyone, we have class tomorrow, so let's get to sleep."

"Yeah, I'm dead tired." Ku Fei yawned. She plopped down on one of the beds and fell asleep almost instantly.

"She better not kick in her sleep," Haruna muttered. She lay down warily and pulled the blanket over herself.

"That party really took a lot out of everyone," Setsuna chuckled. The Shinmeiryuu dropped down on one of the beds and laid Yuunagi next to it.

Konoka yawned tiredly. "I'm pretty tired to." She lay down next to Setsuna and nuzzled her head against her shoulder.

This caused Setsuna to blush and Kamo to smirk. Yue and Nodoka chose the bed just opposite of Setsuna. Neither of them was brave enough to share a bed with Negi. Negi lay down in the bed diagonally from theirs. A second later Kaede lay down next to him, making him blush. But he had shared a tent with her and this wasn't much different, so he calmed down quickly. Chisame laid down on one of the last remaining beds. She carefully placed her laptop down and slammed her head on the pillow with a 'pouf.'

Asuna was the only one still out of bed. She was staring at a rather curious looking book she had found on the shelves. The text was in Latin and there was a strange glyph on the cover. She didn't know why the book looked so familiar to her. She didn't even know any Latin. There was just something about it.

"Asuna? Are you going to sleep?"

Asuna quickly shoved the book back and turned around. "Yeah Konoka! I just got a bit distracted!"

The redhead looked around for an empty futon. Negi was sharing with Kaede and Konoka was with Setsuna. When were those two going to realize how cute they looked together? There were two open spots left. One empty bed and Chisame's bed. She didn't want to get woken up by Asakura so she chose Chisame. Asuna traipsed over to the bed and smiled at the girl.

"Looks like were sharing." She said halfheartedly.

Chisame glared back at her and sniffed. "Don't sound too excited," she said sarcastically.

Asuna frowned. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just used to sleeping with Negi or Konoka." She explained hastily.

Chisame didn't say anything and just turned her back on Asuna. Asuna sighed and lay down, not bothering to get under the blankets. This was going to be a long night.

Once everyone settled Negi used his magic to douse the candelabras that lit the room. He nuzzled against Kaede and closed his eyes.

Setsuna stared around the room. Her gaze came full circle to rest on Konoka. The festival as hard on everyone. She felt lucky to have been able to protect both Negi and Konoka.

Konoka's eyes fluttered open to see Setsuna staring at her. "Secchan, what's wrong?" She mumbled sleepily.

Setsuna blushed at getting caught. "Nothing. Go back to sleep Ojou-sama," she soothed.

"Kono-chan."

"Kono-chan," she whispered to the half asleep girl.

Setsuna placed her head down next to Konoka and drifted off to sleep.

Chisame glared up at the dark ceiling. She had been happy with her normal boring life. Then **he **came along and turned her life upside down. She used to be a normal girl, now she was drawn into this world of magic. A world she didn't belong in. What was she to do now?

She glanced at the redhead beside her and frowned bitterly. She hadn't shared a bed with anyone since Chika. Her eyes began to tear at the mere thought of her little sister. She took off her glasses and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Now she would never sleep.

Asuna felt something shaking just as she was falling asleep. She turned over and was shocked to see Chisame crying silently. The sobbing sounds were heartbreaking.

"Chisame-chan, are you okay?" She whispered.

Chisame tensed and turned away from Asuna. "I (sniff) I'm fine." She sniffled.

"But…"

"…You should get some sleep. H-here, you –you don't want to freeze." She offered some of the blanket to Asuna.

Asuna accepted the blanket without question. It was going to be a long night.

Negi turned, unable to fall asleep. Something was still bothering him. He just didn't know what. Careful, so as not to wake Kaede, he slipped from the bed and walked over to the window. He flung the shutters open and hopped up onto the ledge. Since he wasn't getting any sleep he might as well enjoy the night.

"Negi-bozu?"

Negi jumped, almost falling out of the window. "Ku-master…you startled me."

"Sorry." She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What is Negi-bozu still doing up?"

"Nothing important. You should go back to sleep."

Ku Fei stared at him with curious green eyes. She sat down on the ledge next to him. She could tell something was bothering him. "I know Negi-bozu better than that. What's wrong?"

'_She may be one of the Baka Rangers, but she's not dumb at all.'_ Negi sighed. "I'm just a little confused. I always wanted to be a mage. I still do; I'm just not sure if I can make it anymore."

Ku Fei shook her head. "You're a great mage already and an excellent person. You just need a little more confidence. Besides, where would we be without you?"

Negi stared at the ground guiltily. "That's the other thing. I got everyone involved in my problems. I don't know if I can protect you all."

His hair was suddenly ruffled playfully by the small girl. "That not true.-Aru. Everyone knew the dangers when they chose to get involved. We all believe in you. If we didn't then we wouldn't have gone through everything we have."

"Still…"

"No, Negi-bozu. I know you're scared. But a little courage means a lot. Remember, power doesn't come from magic alone. It comes from your heart to."

Negi never expected such a touching speech from her. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yep! I never would have won my match with Mana if it wasn't for you. Now, do you want to become a mage?"

Negi nodded. "I want it more than anything."

"Then I'll help in any way I can."

Negi wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled at Ku Fei. "Th-thank you again, Master Ku."

"Always glad to help my apprentice. And only call me master when were training."

"Thanks again! I really needed that!" He hugged Ku Fei, making her blush. He was never that forward.

Ku Fei returned the hug and smiled. "No problem. We should get back to sleep though."

"Right. We still have class tomorrow." He smiled brightly at her. "Goodnight Ku Fei-chan!"

He may have not noticed the change in honorifics, but she did. She blushed again, bidding him a hasty good night. The girl crawled back into the futon with Haruna. She drifted off to sleep; no longer worried about what tomorrow may bring

**END CHAPTER**

**That's the end of Chapter 2! Next chapter is going to be the first fight! If there's anyone still reading this thing; do me a favor and hit The Review button. If I don't get reviews they'll beat me.**

**Me: Huh! NO MANA! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (Squeals Like Little Girl)**


	3. Chapter 3:I Want It More: Part II

**Authors Rant: Once again I would like to thank all those who reviewed for my story. I know it's off to a slow start, but I'm going somewhere with it. I promise.**

**NYITNYIT: Loosely translated the title can mean 'Ties of Destiny' or it can mean 'Bonds of Fate.'**

**Choose whatever one you like!**

**Wing the Swordsman: I'll try my best to not let you down. I have a few Aces' up my sleeve still. I'd be happy to try and BETA something for you. I'm new at this so it might take me awhile. **

**Eternal-Longing: I greatly appreciate your…criticism. Lol. To be honest I completely forgot about the complexities of Evangeline's resort. I'll try to be more careful from now on. Takane and Mei are in the story because I have a greater purpose for them. Ask for Ku Fei: 1) I don't give her broken speech because I don't think Akamatsu-sama had that in mind. 2) It messes with my spell checker. 3) My girlfriend is Chinese and she considers that a stereotype. She scares me sometimes! I admit it!**

"Talking"

"_**Talking in English"**_

'_Thinking'_

**Now, on with the story!**

Disclaimer: Negima belongs to Ken Akamatsu. And my mom took my mini marshmallows!

* * *

**CHAPTER 3: I Want It More: Part II**

"Negi-sensei! Negi-sensei?!"

Negi looked up from his desk. Everyone in the class had their eyes on him. It made him feel like he was on display. "Yes Ako-san?"

The silver haired girl gave him a nervous glance. "Um, class is over."

"Huh?" Negi looked at his watch and sighed. "So it is. Sorry everyone, I'm just a little tired. You're dismissed. Make sure you read pages 100-108, answer the questions at the end!"

Negi watched the students file out of the door one by one. He bid each of them a farewell between his yawns. He always felt tired after coming back from Evangeline's resort. _'Probably because she ropes me into last minute training sessions every time.' _With that last thought he grabbed his bag and prepared to leave the classroom.

"Negi-sensei?"

Negi jumped. He thought all of the girls had gone. "Y-Yes Chisame-san?'

Chisame stared at him from behind her large spectacles. "Negi-sensei…I've (sigh) I've been thinking a lot about our situation."

"Our situation?"

"Yes. And I've decided that I want to keep my contract with you."

"Really!? You really mean that?!" He asked excitedly.

"Not so loud! Besides I'm not doing this for you! I just want to keep my artifact. That's my only reason!"

"S-sure! Of course!" He grabbed his bag and followed here to the door. "Chisame-san?"

"Hm?"

"Arigatou." He gave her that same charming smile he always used with the girls.

"Whatever." She murmured, going out into the hall.

"Negi! Chisame-chan!" Just like usual Asuna, Konoka, and Setsuna were waiting for him outside. "We're going to meet the others for lunch. You guys wanna come?"

"We'd love to!" Negi replied.

"Baka! Stop volunteering me!"

"You guys go ahead though! I have to go ask Takamichi something."

"Takahata-sensei?!"

"Down Asuna," Konoka chuckled. She began petting the redhead like a dog.

"We'll wait for you by the fountain out front." Setsuna shifted her sword before walking off.

"Wait Secchan!"

"Come on Chisame-chan!" Asuna grabbed the brunettes arm and pulled her along.

"Oi! Kagurazaka! I'll go! Just get off of me!"

Negi shook his head in amusement. He felt something wiggling in his pocket, a second later, Kamo climbed onto his shoulder. "Is class over already?" He asked sleepily.

"Yep. Were going to lunch, but first I have to go see Takamichi first."

"Then let's hurry. I'm starving!"

* * *

Takamichi sat in the faculty lounge waiting for Negi to show up. Luckily, Seruhiko was also off the clock, so to speak. They had some great stories to exchange with one another. Takamichi shared old wars stories of when he used to travel with the Thousand Master. Seruhiko had some war stories of his own. Mostly, he just told stories about his humorous troublemaking at the academy. The stories always managed to make Takamichi laugh.

The door to the staff room started to open. With lightning fast speed, Takamichi took the cigarette from his mouth and shoved it into Seruhiko's. The younger mage glanced at him in utter confusion. They turned their attention to the door, Takamichi breathing a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's just you Negi-kun."

Seruhiko took the cigarette from his mouth and tossed it in the ashtray. "Who the hell did you think it was?"

"Probably Shizuna-sensei," Negi guessed.

"Awwwww! The great Takamichi is scared of his girlfriend. Isn't that cute," teased Seruhiko.

"Yeah, he wants to make her happy," Negi said with a smile.

"Then all he has to do is give her a little kissy-kissy!" Kamo said, puckering her lips.

Takamichi glared around the room at them. They were too busy laughing to notice. "First of all," he pointed at Seruhiko, "she's not my girlfriend. Second, you to have been around Eva for too long."

"Were just teasing. Besides, I think Shizuna might be sick. I haven't seen her around the past few days."

"Really?" Negi asked. He hadn't seen her around either. _'Maybe I can make her a potion or something.'_

"Negi-kun?" Negi shook his head and looked at Takamichi. "You looked kind of dazed for a minute."

"No, just thinking. I came by to ask if we still have that teachers meeting for tonight."

"No. It was cancelled. Akashi and Nitta-san can't make it," Seruhiko replied.

Takamichi nodded. "It's been postponed for tomorrow night."

"That's great. I really need to sleep." Negi laughed. "I'd love to stick around and talk, but I have a prior engagement."

"Negi-kun." Negi stopped at the door and turned around. "If you ever need any help, you can come to us."

"That's right." Seruhiko nodded.

Negi nodded appreciatively. With a quick wave, he bolted out of the door.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Seruhiko asked.

"I sure hope so."

Negi hurried down the stone stairs of the school. He didn't want to be late. Asuna would have his head faster than he could say help. He ran across the campus finding very few students along the way. He didn't think he had been inside that long. Finally, he reached the fountain out in front of the school. The girls were there sitting on the fountain, waiting patiently for him. Well almost.

"Negi! What do you mean by keeping us waiting this long?"

"Eh? Sorry, I took a little longer than I expected. OH! Master!" He called, waving his arms.

Evangeline had been walking by with Chachamaru and Mana. She looked a little annoyed. "What do you want bouya?"

"I was wondering if you all wanted to come to lunch with us."

"We can't." She motioned to Chachamaru and herself. "We have extra patrols because she got in trouble." She jerked her thumb towards Mana and glared.

Mana glared back at her. "I have my duties at the shrine to attend to."

"Sorry you guys can't come. Come on Negi, I'm hungry!"

"Negi Springfield?" Asked a voice from behind him.

"Yes?"

Negi turned around; someone's fist smashed into his face, launching him into the air. He landed several feet away from the fountain. He hit the ground hard. His vision blurred and he had trouble focusing in. He could hear voices calling out to them. When his vision came back the girls were leaning over him. They looked concerned.

"Negi-kun are you alright?" Konoka asked. Tears of concern flowed from her eyes.

"Negi-sensei, you're bleeding!" Yue cried.

The two girls helped him to his feet. What the hell happened? One minute he was going to lunch and the next he was flying through the air! He looked up and saw Asuna, Setsuna, Ku Fei, and Chachamaru confronting the attacker. The attacker was only about as tall as Negi himself. Whoever it was, their face was shrouded by a black hood. The cloak traveled all the way down to his ankles.

'_He's no normal person. He's definitely a mage!'_

"Who are you!? Why did you attack my apprentice?!" Ku Fei demanded.

"That doesn't matter!" Asuna drew her Pactio card from her purse. "This guy is toast!"

"WAIT!"

"But Negi!"

"Wh-who are you?" Negi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Why did you attack me?"

"**_You don't remember me, Negi? I'm hurt."_** That was English and the voice sounded so familiar. **_"Should I help you out a little?"_** Asked the silky smooth voice.

Two gloved hands reached up to the hood and pulled it back. Shoulder length blond hair fell out over a handsome face. Cold blue eyes stared at them from behind the golden locks. Negi's jaw hit the floor. The figure laughed in amusement.

"**_Surprised?"_**

"William?"

"Who the hell is William?" Chisame asked.

Kaede shrugged. "Negi-bozu, who is this guy?"

Negi ignored her. **_"William what are you doing here?"_** He asked in English. **_"Why did you attack me?"_**

"**_That should be pretty obvious, Negi Springfield."_** William spat his name out like it was some kind of poison. **_"We're rivals aren't we? I came here for a fight!"_**

"_**But-but we were friendly rivals! Why would you come this far for a fight!?"**_

"**_Yeah!" _**Kamo shouted. **_"What are you getting at!?" _**The ermine had flown into the fountain and was soaking wet now.

"**_Hello rodent. To answer your question; this fight will be different from the others. Because this time the loser…dies!"_**

Negi paled considerably. He stared back at Williams smirking face in horror. For once, even Kamo was stunned into silence. The young mage teacher became nauseous, like there was bile rising in his throat.

"Negi? Negi what did he say to you?" Asuna asked.

"Why is Negi-bozu trembling?" Ku Fei asked.

"He's freaking out! Come on snap out of it kid!" Chisame scolded.

"So you used to go to school with this brat, eh?" Evangeline walked to the front of the group. **_"So that's why you attacked bouya? How did you get past the barrier without me detecting you?"_**

William smirked. **_"Perhaps you're losing you're touch, vampire,"_** he scoffed.

Evangeline was fuming from the insult. **_"If you want a fight you got one!"_**

"_**Sorry, the only one I have interest in is Negi. He's what I want!"**_

"_**NO! I won't fight you!"**_

"SPEAK IN JAPANESE!" Haruna shouted.

"**_You're out of luck William" _**Negi smirked. **_"I can't use magic for a month. Even if I could I wouldn't fight you here. It would put to many people in danger."_**

"**_Fine!" _**The blond growled in anger. A large black aura surrounded him, burning like a fire. **_"If you won't fight me willingly; THEN I'LL FORCE YOU TO!" _**The aura grew bigger and expanded.

"**_What are you doing idiot!" _**Kamo cried.

"**_William stop!"_**

William grinned and waved his hands in complex motions. "Sino Omnia Hiatus Claudo Et Noster Orbis Fio Unus!"

The aura of black energy shot out, surrounding the entire area. The fountain, campus and school all began to disappear behind a veil of darkness.

"Wh-what's happening?!" Nodoka asked in a panic.

"He's opening up an alternate dimension!" Evangeline backed up next to Chachamaru. "He's stronger than I thought!"

Negi stared at William. He was starting to feel lightheaded. The world around them finally faded completely into the darkness. He closed his eyes to rid himself of the dizzy feeling. When he opened his eyes, he was a little less than comforted. He was standing on what could only be called a magical plain. On both sides and above him were fields of surging yellow energy. One the outside was a black expanse of nothing.

"Kamo-kun? What is this place?"

The ermine looked around frantically. "Aniki I think this is…"

"**_The Between World!" _**William said raising his hands.

"**_No way!" _**Negi bolted around to look at William.

William smirked. **_"Why not? Large area, no civilians, and no escape; it's the perfect place for a fight. Look, we even have an audience!" _**He laughed.

Negi looked behind him to see the girls trapped behind a red barrier. Everyone except for Evangeline, Mana, and Setsuna looked confused.

"**_What did you do to them?" _**Negi asked frantically.

"**_Their fine,"_** William assured him. **_"Would you like to hear what they're saying?" _**William waved his hand and they could hear everything.

* * *

"What's going on here? Where are we?" Chisame asked.

"Who cares," Asuna growled. "We have to get out of here!"

"They call it the Between World." Everyone turned around to look at Evangeline.

"The Between world?" Konoka asked.

"It's a kind of alternate dimension. It's called the between world because mages from long ago used it to travel between dimensions. Now it's mostly used as a place for duels."

"Duels?" Kaede asked.

Konoka jumped up, looking rather horrified. "Does that mean Negi-Kun is in trouble? We have to help!" She shouted running towards the barrier.

"I wouldn't (ZZZZAAAAAAAPPPPPPP!) do that."

"Ojou-sama!"

Konoka dropped to the ground. The shock from the barrier made her hair stand on end and her eyes glaze over. Setsuna, Nodoka and Yue dropped to her side."

"Ojou-sama! Are you okay!?"

"Secchan?" The girl asked airily. "Pretty bunny!" She cried, throwing her arms around Setsuna.

Yue rolled her eyes. "She's fine. But what are we going to do?"

"Chachamaru?"

"Sorry master. I have already tried. I cannot deactivate the barrier," she said regretfully.

"Hm?"

"Looks like we have to wait. And trust that Negi-bozu will come through.-De Gozaru." Kaede sat down in the lotus position to watch the fight. The others followed her example.

* * *

"**_What kind of barrier is that?"_**

"**_A special barrier." _**William replied. **_"It's used for containment as well as torture."_**

"_**T…torture?" **_

"_**As you just saw, anyone who touches the barrier gets a rather nasty shock. Now if were through here, lets get on with it!"**_

"_**What if I refuse?"**_

William smirked coldly. **_"With a wave of my hand I can cause them unimaginable pain."_**

Negi lowered his gaze to the ground. **_"…Fine."_**

"Aniki?!"

"I have no choice Kamo-kun. You go and wait with the others. I'll take care of this."

Kamo was shocked at the fire burning in his brother's eyes. There was no talking him out of this. "I guess you're right. Be careful Aniki." The ermine leapt off his shoulder and went to join the others.

"**_I guess I have no choice, Will. Just answer me one question. Why?"_**

"_**...Destiny," William replied.**_

"**_Heh. Cant argue with destiny." _**Perhaps if he could end this quickly neither of them would get hurt too badly. His best bet was start out with hand-to-hand combat. Good thing he still had Evangeline's ring.

The young mages faced off. Both of them were waiting for the other to make the first move. Without warning, they rushed one another. Negi swung out with his right hand, aiming for Will's jaw. Will ducked; he pulled his weight to the right and retaliated with a jab. Negi leapt to the side; he spun along Will's body so their positions were switched and struck out with a spinning back hand. The blond ducked and struck out with his right leg. The sole of his shoe clipped Negi in the chin, knocking him to the ground. Negi rolled to the side. He leapt up, twisting into an uppercut. Will grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. He delivered a sharp kick to the back of Negi's leg and pushed him to the ground

Will stepped over his friend's body, a sneer on his face. "**_Is that all you have to offer? Pathetic."_**

Negi struggled to his feet. He peered back over his shoulder with a cocky grin. **_"Not even started yet!"_** He rushed at William again.

* * *

"Did you see that?" Kaede asked. "Was that Wing Chun?"

Ku Fei nodded. "And he's good to."

"Is that bad?" Haruna asked.

"…Negi-sensei has no chance of winning," Mana whispered.

"NO!" Ku Fei shouted. "He can win. I know he can!"

William sunk his fist into Negi's stomach. Instead of falling, Negi struck out with his left hand. Will pulled his head to the side, his face getting grazed by Negi's fist. He took advantage of Negi's lack of balance and kneed him in the face. Negi stumbled backwards trying to avoid more damage. William was to fast. The blond leapt forward; he unleashed a flurry of lightning fast punches to Negi's face and chest. He brought his left leg into a roundhouse that connected square with Negi's jaw. Negi fell on all fours and didn't get back up.

"That's it!" Asuna jumped up, a fierce glare in her eyes. "Magic barriers can't hold me!"

"Kagurazaka-"Evangeline began.

ZZZZAAAPPP!

Asuna fell to the ground. She stared back at the barrier in shock. "Why can't I go through it?"

"Things are different here. You can't do what you can in the real world," Evangeline explained.

"Can't you do something?"

"I suppose that since were in a different dimension I can use my powers. But the left over energy would turn you all to mush." She smiled devilishly.

"You can still win Negi-bozu! You just have to stay out of his range!" Ku Fei shouted.

* * *

Negi grimaced. **_"She's right. You're better at close range."_**

"**_So, you've figured it out. Give up yet."_** William asked in a patronizing voice.

"**_No. I just need a little boost."_** Negi stood back up a faint magical aura appearing around him. **_"BATTLE HYMN!"_**

"**_Battle Hymn? What the hell is-AUGH!"_**

A sharp blow to the chin made Will stagger back. H threw up his arms just in time to block a kick. He struck out at Negi with his left hand. Negi slapped the fist away with his right hand; he shifted his weight to the front and slammed his open palm into Will's chest. He spun in a quick 180, hitting will with a double open palmed thrust that knocked him off balance. Before he could move there was a clubbing blow to the back of his head. That shot knocked him forward into Negi's forearm. Will's world was turned upside-down and he was lying flat on his back.

"**_I see. You used magic to power yourself up. I have a potion that can do that for ten seconds. It's_** **_enough."_** He got back to his feet and pulled a vial of green liquid from inside of his cloak.

"_**What?! That was my best shot!"**_

"**_Not good enough."_** Will raised the vial to his lips and downed it one shot. "**_Let's see what you got!"_**

Will rushed Negi head on; he aimed a punch straight at Negi's midsection. Negi's right hand shot out, slamming into Will's fist. The power of the two magically charged punches combined, causing and explosion that knocked the two fighters apart.

Negi pulled two vials from inside his suit jacket. "Nebula Fraus!" The glass shattered, creating a purple fog around Will. Negi threw the other vial down and jumped into the purple fog. "That fog lasts for three minutes. Until then he can't move."

* * *

"Oh no! I can't see anything!" Nodoka said waving her arms around.

"Damnit, what's going on?!" Chisame asked.

"Nothing. I can sense their magical signatures. Aniki is moving, but I can't tell what he's doing. And that brat is just sitting there."

"Are you sure ermine-perv?"

"Yes Ane-san. And my name is Kamo!"

"Talking ermine. It's so cuuuuuute!" Konoka squealed. She tried to reach out for Kamo.

"Ah! No touching the barrier!" Setsuna pulled her hand back.

"But I want to pet it!"

"I'll let you pet him later."

"Master? Do those potions look familiar to you?" Chachamaru asked.

"They should. They're mine!" The Shinso replied. She concentrated hard. She was going to give that boy a piece of her mind. Literally.

* * *

"Crap! I still can't think of anything!" There was suddenly a sound inside of his head, almost like a voice. Wait, he knew that voice! "Evangeline-san?"

"That's right boy! You damn brat, you stole some of my potions!"

"Heh, heh. Y-yeah. Sorry!"

"Ugh! Don't worry about it now. If you lose this fight I'll kill you!"

"If I lose this fight you won't have to."

"…The fog is clearing. Don't think, just do."

"Right. Arigatou!"

Negi felt the link between them become severed. The clouds of fog were beginning to fade, he had to move fast. He muttered a quick incantation to give him extra speed. The he reached inside of his jacket and pulled out a magic gun. Finally the smoke cleared. He jumped out of the way just as a shot hit where he was standing. William had his own magic gun out and was firing wildly at him. Negi dodged another shot and ran towards William in a zigzag pattern. Before William knew it, Negi was just inches from his face. He raised his gun to fire; William used his gun to knock Negi's to the side. They both pulled the trigger; firing shots off in a random direction. The repeated the motion. This time they fired into the air. Another shot, this time the bullet grazed Negi's leg, making him cry out in pain.

"**_What's the matter? Number one in the class falling behind?"_**

"_**You always were jealous."**_

"_**The teachers favored you."**_

"_**So did Anya!"**_

William growled and punched Negi with all of his strength. Negi was thrown through the air. William raised his gun and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately he didn't see the vial Negi threw. The bolt of magic shattered the glass; a fiery explosion flung William to the ground. His gun skidded from his hand. Whoever got to their feet had the clear advantage.

"I can't take much more of this. I have to do something." Negi tried to get to his feet; a bone shattering pain in his abdomen knocked him back down. "I…I think I cracked a rib."

"**_Cheap move Negi."_**

William had already gotten back to his feet. He was holding his right side. Finally he was showing signs of slowing down. But he still had the upper hand. So why didn't he just use magic and finish it already?

Negi's eyes widened. He didn't use magic because he couldn't. Bringing them to this world and keeping up that barrier must have drained his magic considerably. Negi's thinking cost him. A fist slammed into his head, knocking him to the ground. Two hands grabbed his shirt and pulled him to his knees.

"**_How could such talent be wasted in on you!"_** William scoffed. "**_Except for some fast reflexes and_** **_quick thinking, you're nothing special!"_** William punched him hard in the face. **_"It doesn't matter_**. **_Because I'm gonna win!"_** Another savage punch to the face. Negi's magic shield had crumbled long ago; he could feel the blood flowing from his nose and mouth. **_"You want to know why?!"_** Punch. **_"Because I_** **_want it more."_**

Williams's fist shot out for the final blow. Negi's hand shot up and closed around the fist. Negi twisted the wrist sharply. He punched William hard in the stomach making him stumble.

"**_No, I will beat you."_** Negi's open palm snapped nailed William in the jaw; he followed up with a hard right to the solar lexes. **_"Because no on wants it as much as I do!"_** He ducked under Williams poorly aimed left hook and hit him three times in the face. **_"We always were fighting."_** Left hook. **_"But I thought we were friends."_** Right hook, he felt Williams nose break under the pressure. "But I was wrong."

Negi kicked him hard in the chest sending him sliding back several feet. Negi lifted his arms and so did William.

'_What? Magic strings.' _William thought. _'They're all over me! But when did he?!'_

"_**It's time for you to see some real magic. Album Fulmen!"**_

Several thousand volts of electricity surged through the magical wires. "ARRRRGGGGGGHH!" William screamed in pain. It felt like white hot wires were burning into his flesh. He dropped to his knees, no longer able to take the pain. Negi stopped his spell just short of completely frying his enemy. Steam rose from Williams's charred clothes and flesh. He was shaking violently as if having a seizure.

"**_It's over William. I know you can't move!"_**

William coughed violently. **_"You're right. I (cough) cant. You win. Now finish me."_**

"_**NO! It doesn't have to end that way!"**_

"**_Yes it does."_** William coughed again and raised his hand. **_"If I don't die, they will!"_**

"NO!" Negi turned around sharply. Screams of pain pierced the air around him. He could see bolts of energy shocking the girls. They all looked like they were in agonizing pain. Energy, the color of dark blue appeared in the palm of Negi's right hand. He turned and pointed it at William. **_"WLLIAM STOP IT NOW!"_**

No response.

"NEGI! H-HELP US!" Asuna cried out in pain.

"NEG-NEGI-SENSEI…" That was Setsuna's voice!

"NEGI-BOZU!" Ku Fei and Kaede.

"BOUYA…KILL HIM…DO IT…NOOWWWWWWWW!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Negi raised his hand into the air and swiped downward. "Penetrabilis Glacies Cystallum!" Spears of razor sharp ice shot from the blue orb. The series of tiny ice spears struck William dead center in the chest. Blood leaked out from the wounds on his chest; his hand fell to his side.

The world of shadows they were in began to break apart. All of the energy receded, revealing first the fountain then a set of stone stairs. Eventually the entire school came back into focus. It was nighttime and most of the students were back in their dorms already. They were all alone in the plaza.

Negi tried to say something but the words were caught in his throat. William lay on the ground several feet away in a pool of his own blood. There was that bile in his throat again. He turned and threw up at the foot of the statue. He had never killed a human before. He turned to look at William again and saw something strange. A black wisp of smoke seeped out of Williams's body and shot straight into the air. It was the last thing he saw before his world turned black.

* * *

Negi's eyes fluttered open. Everything was white and blurry. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was fighting William, then nothing. He started to panic. Where was he? How did he get here?

"Oh, you're finally awake," said a familiar voice.

He knew that voice. "Takamichi?"

His vision suddenly became much clearer. He could feel the familiar pressure of his glasses on his face. He could see Takamichi staring down at him in concern. "Takamichi where am I?" He asked wearily.

"You're in the medical office. We sensed a surge of magical energy and were sent to investigate. Mitsuru-kun, Gandolfini-kun and I found you and the others passed out near the fountain."

Negi bolted into a sitting position, ignoring the protests of his body. "What happened to everyone? Are they okay?!" He asked in a rush.

"Calm down Negi," Takamichi said in a gentle voice. He eased Negi down onto the bed before continuing. "Now, tell me what happened."

So Negi told him everything. About William, the barrier, their fight, and the wisps of black smoke. Takamichi listened to the entire story without interrupting. When Negi was finished Takamichi just looked at him.

"So that's what happened to them."

Negi nodded. "Where are they?"

"Right now they're all asleep in the other room. Chachamaru had to be taken to the university for repairs. She'll be good as new in no time."

"Can I see them?"

Takamichi helped him into the other room. Just like he said they were fast asleep. Kamo lay curled up on the pillow next to Asuna's head. Negi walked over to her bed and just stared at her face. He looked at all of the girls and started to cry.

"Negi-kun?"

"I couldn't help them Takamichi," he sniffed. "Even…when they (sniff) were in (hic) trouble." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I…killed William. And I couldn't save them in time." He grieved.

Takamichi shook his head. "You did what it took to protect them. Nothing more."

"But it wasn't enough. I'm not…I'm not strong enough Takamichi. I was arrogant and it cost me. I need more training. A lot more."

"I thought you might say that." Negi looked up at him through tearful eyes. "Say goodbye to them. Then pack your things and meet me in front of the school in fifteen minutes. Tell no one."

Negi watched Takamichi leave the room in a hurry. Whatever he was planning Negi had better listen well. He said goodbye to each of the girls as fast as he could. He had to become stronger. He would get stronger so he could deserve their loyalty. When he was done he ran to his room and packed. He packed extra clothes, his staff and anything else he might need. By the time he made it to the front of the school Takamichi was already there. So was another mage.

This mage was handsome with black hair and deep blue eyes. Negi remembered him as Albireo Imma. One of his father's closest friends and the man who beat him in the Mahora Tournament. Negi skidded to a stop at the two mages sides.

"Good! You decided to come!" Albireo said happily.

"Y-You're going to be my trainer."

"One of them." Albireo slashed the air. A large swirling vortex opened before them. "Come on. I only have enough power left for another minute!"

"You aren't coming?" Negi asked Takamichi.

"I can't. Just listen to Al and you'll be fine."

"Negi hurry!"

Negi thanked Takamichi and ran through the portal. Albireo nodded to his friend and jumped through the portal just before it closed.

"Take care of him Al."

* * *

Negi fell out of the portal and into a world shrouded in fog. He almost panicked until Albireo stepped up next him. The portal behind them closed with an audible 'pop!'

"Where are we?" Negi asked.

"Don't worry about that now." A short thin man in a steepled hat appeared in front of them. He was sort of transparent and he glowed. "You've grown since the last time I saw you whelp." He lifted his head to reveal a weathered face.

Negi gasped. Out of everything that happened today, this was the biggest surprise of them all. It was impossible, it had to be. "S-S-Stan Ojii-san?"

The old magister smiled at him. "Rest up boy. Tomorrow your training begins."

**END CHAPTER**

**Man that chapter seemed long. Here's a translation of the spells I used in this chapter.**

**Sino Omnia Hiatus Claudo ET Noster Orbis Fio Unus: Let All Gaps Close and Our Worlds Become One**

**Nebula Fraus: Fog of Deception**

**Album Fulmen: White Lightning**

**Penetrabilis Glacies Crystallum: Penetrating Ice Crystals**

**So we got to see a little bit of Evangeline in Negi. Please don't forget to review and tell me what you thought. Until next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4 What Happened to You?

**WoooooooHooooooooooooooo! Yes, I love reviews. Once again, I would love to thank all my readers. You guys are the greatest. I would also like to thank my girlfriend for talking me into going asleep last night so I'm not a zombie today! On with the story!**

**Me: Ku Fei read the disclaimer please.**

**Ku: But I'm not very good at English.-Aru.**

**Me: JUST DO IT!**

**Ku: Negi-bozu, Takahata-sensei, Mako is being mean to me!**

**Negi & Takamichi: (Glare) (I am on the run!)**

**Ku: (Giggles) Mako does not own Negima!**

**Me: Hey!**

**CHAPTER 4: What Happened To You?**

Asuna woke from her sleep with a soft yawn. She rolled over on her side and checked her cell phone. She groaned and sat up in her bed. It was time fore her to get up and go deliver the morning papers, again. On her way out of bed she reached behind her to shake Negi awake. Her hand reached out to wake him, but she found nothing but air. Where could he be? She turned around and had to mentally kick herself. Negi had been gone for five days now. When she and Konoka had been released from the medical office, they didn't know they would be coming back to an empty dorm room. But he was gone. Not only did he leave but he took his staff with him. His staff, potions, magic weapons, and clothes were all gone, yet he left Kamo behind. So they did what came natural…they panicked.

Asuna crawled from her bed and walked into the bathroom. She stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water. The warm water felt good against her tired muscles. Asuna allowed her mind to wander over the past few days. Once they were sure Negi had been missing; her Konoka and Setsuna ran around asking everyone if they had seen him. They asked everyone Zazie to the last mage teacher. She squeezed some shampoo into her hand and lathered her hair. It seemed like she had found out something when she asked Takamichi. The former Crimson Wing member didn't give her any information at all. Only saying that wherever he was he was fine and she shouldn't worry about him. She suspected that Takamichi knew more than he was letting on. Then again if he said everything was fine it probably was. If Negi was in danger he would have told them.

Her hand tightened around the shampoo bottle and she threw it violently against the shower wall. That little brat didn't deserve her feelings of concern! Of course she knew why he left. It all had to do with that William kid. Instead of running away and trying to do things on his own, he could come to her for help. He didn't understand what he was doing to them. The rest of the class had been rather depressed lately. Most noticeable was the affect that his disappearance had on the 'Magical Group.' The Library Group confined themselves to the library for most of the time. Chisame and Mana stopped coming around altogether. The only reason they probably came around in the first place. Evangeline was the same as ever. The tiny blond just didn't really talk to them anymore, and of course Chachamaru followed her master's example. Asuna rinsed the shampoo from her hair and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped a towel around her waist and stepped out of the bathroom.

She grabbed her school uniform and hurried back into the bathroom to change. While she was changing her thoughts fell onto another member of their group. Ku Fei. The blond martial artist would be gone for hours at a time. In one case she had been missing an entire day. Asuna never realized just how important Negi was to everyone. He was definitely the glue that held the group together. Without them they were just a group of schoolgirls after all.

Asuna stepped from the bathroom fully clothed. Kamo was stalking around the room in a sort of early morning daze. She wanted to say something to the ermine, but ever since Negi left he was like a shell. Sure, he did his normal perverted deeds, but his heart wasn't in it anymore. He just couldn't stop thinking that Negi might be dead. Little idiot, the brat was too stubborn to die. Asuna picked up the bell ornaments from her nightstand and carefully placed them in her hair. She had some time before she had to leave for work.

Again her thoughts drifted back to her magister in training. Asuna hated him for being so damn stubborn. She hated that he didn't say goodbye or even leave a note. She would hate him for the way he would act like nothing happened when he came back. More than anything she missed him. She had lost her teacher and her little brother all in one day. She wanted him to come back so that things could go back to normal. She also wanted to get her hands on him. She'd give him a lesson in running away that he would never forget.

knock knock knock

The soft knocking sound at the door drew Asuna's attention. She grabbed her bag from the back of the chair and leapt up. She flung the door open and there stood Setsuna. Her cheeks and nosed looked a little pink. The young Shinmeiryuu smiled at her friend and pointed at wrist to show they were late.

"Yeah, I know were late," Asuna said waving at her offhandedly.

"Wait! It's pretty cold outside. You might want to get your jacket."

Asuna noticed that the smaller girl was wearing a black denim jacket. She had it buttoned tightly around her. Asuna grabbed her purple jacket off of the hook and swung it over her shoulders she zipped it up and smiled.

"I'm ready to go!" The two girls stepped out of the dorm room. Asuna took out her key and locked the door behind her. "Thanks for coming along again Setsuna-san." She said stuffing the key back in her pocket.

Setsuna smiled back at her. It had become common place for her to go with Asuna on her morning route. "No problem. I know what its like. It gets boring when I go on patrol by myself."

"How was your patrol this morning?"

"Better. Since Mana and the others had their punishments revoked I haven't had to do as many patrols."

"Huh?" Asuna asked in surprise. "Their punishments have been lifted?"

Setsuna nodded. "Ever since we were attacked that day," she said matter of factly. "The principal thought it would be a good idea to have full security back. But they are on probation." She hesitated on her next question. She didn't want to upset the redhead. "How are Ojou-sama and Kamo-san?"

Asuna's cheerful attitude changed. Her face turned sour. "All Konoka does is sleep anymore. And ermine-perv acts like Negi is dead."

"I guess I never knew how much of an impact he had on everyone. Even me."

"…Yeah." Asuna agreed quietly.

"Don't worry!" Setsuna smiled. "I'm sure he'll come back soon."

"Yeah! You're right! And when he does-HYAHHHH!" She kicked her leg high into the air.

Setsuna chuckled. That was the violent Asuna that she was used to.

* * *

"I've been out here for two hours."

Takamichi took a long drawl on his cigarette. It was his third one in the past two hours. He knew he really needed to stop smoking. It was harder than most people thought. Smoking for him wasn't only a way to relax it was a way for him to remember his master. He reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out silver Zippo. On the front were the initials G.K.V., on the back was the Crimson Wing logo. It was the only thing he had left of his master. He flicked the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out. He was about to light another one when the wind picked up.

Takamichi turned around. Floating in the breeze were some leaves and the petals of the last sacra trees. The wind picked up, looking like a small cyclone. Takamichi smiled and placed an arm over his face. A particularly strong gust of wind blew his coat out around him. When the last leaf fell to the ground it revealed a small, crouching figure. The figure was wearing a hooded cloak the color of the reddest wine. Clasps in the front held the cloak securely closed. On the back he could barely make out what looked like a silver cross. He had a black bag with him as well. Slung across his back was a long wooden staff.

"I hope you weren't waiting for me long."

Takamichi smirked. "Nice entrance. You looked really cool there." The figure gave an amused grunt. "But I'm afraid your more off schedule than you think."

"EH!?" The figures head snapped back, and the hood fell back from his face. The hoods removal revealed a young boyish face, with brown eyes. His long red hair flew wildly about his face. "You're kidding. Right?" He checked his watch his eyes bulging. "EUUUAGGH! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!"

Takamichi chuckled at his antics. "You better hurry up then."

"St-stop teasing me! I have to go!"

The figure picked up his bag and took off like a shot for the dorm rooms. Takamichi smiled. "Still a kid. Welcome back Negi-kun."

Negi bolted through the halls of the dorm rooms. He tried his best to avoid any of his students. He wanted it to be a surprise when he showed up to class. After much running he finally made it to his dorm room. He unlocked the door and flew inside. It was empty he figured no one would be here. Konoka was probably taking a bath and Asuna would be at her job. He placed his staff against the wall and took out a suit from his bag. He threw the bag up onto his loft.

"OW! WHO THREW THIS UP HE-ANIIKIIIIIII!"

Next thin Negi knew he was flat on his back. Something furry was digging into his neck. "Kamo-Kun!"

"Aniki! Your back! Where did you go?! What happened to you?! You seem different!"

"Whoa calm down Kamo-kun," Negi laughed. He hugged the ermine back. "Come on! I have to go somewhere; if we don't hurry we'll be late for class. I'll explain on the way."

"You were on secret training?"

Negi nodded. He was racing down the hall with Kamo on his shoulder. "Special training. I would have told you but Takamichi told me not to."

"So he did know all along. Anyways, I'm glad your back. Ane-san and Konoka-nee-san have been moping around since you left."

"I hope they aren't too mad at me."

"Just remember that Ane-san has a mean left kick."

"Awwwww man!" He stopped outside of the door marked 'Medical Office.'

"Why are we stopping here?" Kamo asked.

"I need a bandage on my shoulder changed." He opened the door. Inside the room was a young girl. She had her back turned to Negi, but he could recognize the short silver hair. He snuck quietly into the room. He tapped the girl on the shoulder, "HELLO!"

The girl jumped, a squeak of fear coming from her lips. She turned around with her hand over her heart. "N-N-N-Negi-sensei!"

Negi smiled. "Good morning Ako-san."

"Negi-sensei!" Ako hugged him around the neck. "Where have you been? Are you back for good?"

"A long story and yes."

"Good then we've been so worried about you. So why are you here? In the medical office I mean."

"Actually I need you to change a bandage for me." He took off his suit jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. He had a large white bandage over his right shoulder. He peeled the bandage back to reveal three long gashes across his shoulder. They were fresh and still bleeding. "See they're pretty bad. Ako-san, are you okay."

Ako gulped and nodded. She looked a little pale. "Y-yes. It's just...I cant stand the sight of blood."

"And youre the medical officer?" he asked incredulously.

Ako picked up a bottle of antiseptic and some fresh bandages. "You better be nice to me. I don't have to be gentle."

Negi waited patiently while she cleaned and dressed the wound. Despite hating blood she did quite well. The only pain he felt was a small sting from the antiseptic. After she put the last bandage on he pulled his shirt back on.

"I hate to run but it's almost time to start class," he said buttoning up his suit jacket.

"I understand." She held out a tube of ointment for him. "This should help with the pain. And keep the wound clean."

"I will. Arigatou. I'll see you in class!" He called running out the door. Kamo bounded after him and leapt into his pocket.

He didn't get far before he ran into something or someone solid. He fell too the floor knocking the other person down in the process. "Ow! Sorry, I wasn't paying ate-oof!"

"Your back!"

Negi found his face buried in a sea of short golden hair. The scent of roses and lavender reached his nose. It was pleasant and not too strong. The arms around him were strong and held familiar warmth. It had been a long time indeed.

"K-Ku Fei-san?" He guessed.

She pulled back from him confirming his suspicions. "Negi-bozu better remember me." She said feigning a pout. "I missed you."

"I missed Ku Fei-san to." He smiled at her. "It's been really long time."

"Hasn't it only been five days?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, of course. It just seems like a lot longer." He stood up picking up her bag and offered her a hand.

"Arigatou!" She took his hand and let him help her up. She took the bag from him and slung it over her shoulder. "So where did you go?"

"Special training. Sorry I didn't tell you."

"That's okay." She looked at his face and waved her arms about. "What happened to your glasses?" She started to look around on the ground.

"Ku Fei-san its okay. I don't where glasses anymore. "He said with a laugh. "I got contact lenses. How do they look?"

Ku Fei looked at him closer. "Looks good. Very cute!" She blushed slightly and hurried to cover her slip. "Contacts also better for fighting than glasses."

Negi nodded, also blushing. He got called cute all the time. Why did this affect him? "R-Right. Come on! We're going to be late to class."

"Really? Hurry up Negi-bozu!" She grabbed his wrist and pulled him along behind her.

Negi accidentally noticed a book in her bag. _'That's weird. Why does she have a magical text?'_

Kamo smirked at the interactions between Negi and Ku Fei. _'Seems like I was right after all.'

* * *

Asuna watched the front of the classroom in mild interest. Ako had come in looking rather cheerful. She wouldn't tell anyone why, but something good must have happened. Ku Fei came in soon after. She too looked happier. Much more than she had been in the past couple of days. Just like Ako she also avoided telling them why she was so happy. The redhead shrugged and took out her notebook. All she had to do was wait for Seruhiko-sensei to come in. He had taken over for Negi after he left. Asuna was glad to have someone easy and fun in charge of the class._

"OH ARIGATOU. I MEAN KAMI-SAMA! I'M SO GLAD!"

"Did that sound like Seruhiko-sensei?" Konoka asked.

"It sure did," Setsuna said curiously. "He sounds really happy."

"I wonder what happened." Chizuru asked.

The door to the classroom opened up. The girls sat down and quieted themselves. They waited for Seruhiko to enter the room but got the surprise of a lifetime.

"Good morning everyone! Err, is something wrong?"

There was a collective shriek from the class. The entire class jumped from there seats and bull rushed Negi. Before the young mage could move he was being smothered by just about the entire class. The only ones that remained in their seats were Mana, Chisame, Evangeline, Asuna, Konoka, and Setsuna. They were shocked to see Negi appear so suddenly. None of them could even move at this point.

Negi was being smothered by the rest of the class.

"Negi-sensei where did you go?!" Ayaka asked squeezing him to death.

"Yeah. Why were you gone for so long Negi-kun?" Asakura asked.

"How come you didn't tell us?" Sakurako had managed to pry off Ayaka and was hugging him now.

Negi tried his best to answer all of their questions. He left out the major details and told them that he was at a conference in Yamanaka. He was lucky that most of the girls were gullible. A shadow fell over him and he suddenly felt very afraid. Asuna and the other that had remained seated were standing over him. Negi got to his feet and smiled brightly at Asuna.

"Asuna-san!" he ran to hug her.

Asuna grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him into the air. She started to shake him violently. "You little brat! Where the hell have you been?! We've been worrying our asses off because of you!" She put him in a headlock. "Then you go and just show up like this!"

"Asuna don't keep him to yourself," Konoka giggled. She knew that was Asuna's strange way of showing affection. She pried Negi from her grasp and hugged him. "Welcome back Negi-kun!"

Asuna turned around to glare at Ku Fei. "And you! You knew!" She clocked Ku Fei on the top of her head.

"Ku Fei rubbed the spot on her head. "Yeah sort of."

"Instead of class today we should have a party!" Fuka shouted.

"Good idea onee-chan!" Fumika cried.

"P-A-R-T-Y!" The cheerleaders shouted, waving their pom-poms.

"What?! No?! We still have to have…" Negi tried.

"A party sounds like a great idea!" Yuuna cheered.

"I'll go get the food!" Makie offered.

'And I can get the drinks!" Haruna added.

Negi felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Kaede smiling down at him. "Sometimes the best way to win a fight is to not even try."

Negi smiled and sighed in defeat. She was right; he had to pick his battles wisely. And this was one he couldn't win.

So for the rest of the class period they just relaxed. Negi talked to everyone in order to catch up on what had been going on. He noticed that both Ku Fei and Mana were trying to avoid him. He understood Mana but why Ku Fei? She seemed so happy to see him earlier this morning. He wondered what had her acting like that. Then he remembered the magic text she had in her bag. He had seen the book in the academy and at Evangeline's resort. It was a book for someone who was just starting out as a mage. It was a book of theories about: general magic, magic spells, potions, and even contained some beginner level spells. The only thing he could think of was that she was practicing magic. If she was then why start now?

"Negi! Oi Negi!" Negi jumped and looked at Asuna. "Are you listening to me? I'm not through with you yet!"

"S-sorry Asuna-san. I was just wondering if you noticed anything different about Ku Fei-san."

"About Ku Fei? No, but I notice something different about you! What's with all the black?"

Negi looked down at himself. He was wearing a black suit, pants and shoes. He wore a gray shirt underneath his suit jacket. The outfit was completed with a tie that ran the color of blood. He like the new suit. He thought the colors suited him well.

"Come to think of it Negi-sensei isn't wearing glasses anymore," Chisame said suspiciously.

"I got contact lenses," He replied. "A-and I kind of like this suit.

"The colors seem a little dark for you Negi-kun," Konoka replied. Setsuna nodded in agreement.

"Leave bouya alone." Evangeline walked to them in her usual superior manner; her hands on her hips and her golden hair flowing out behind her. "If anything, his tastes have gotten better."

"Arigatou master. See she likes it!" His tone said, 'I told you so.'

"What do you think Chachamaru?" Evangeline asked.

Chachamaru paused in her conversation with Yotsuba. "I think the new suit looks very good on Negi-sensei."

"Of course she would say that!" Asuna cried. "She's got a cru-agggh!" Chachamaru's hand shot off from her arm and smacked Asuna across the room.

"Asuna-san!" Setsuna and Konoka ran to help their friend

Chachamaru blushed and turned back around to finish talking to Yotsuba. Negi tried to go help Asuna, but a hand on his shoulder held him back. He turned around and saw Evangeline staring back at him with a serious look on her face.

"Your assumptions about the Yellow Baka are correct."

Negi's eyes lit up in surprise. "Then she is practicing magic?" He asked in a shocked whisper.

Evangeline nodded. "The day after you left…why did you leave by the way?"

"Takamichi got some special training for me. I'm still going to need masters training though," he admitted sheepishly.

"Humph! Like I really care. Amway's the day after you left she came to my cottage. She wanted to know if she could borrow some books on magic. She also wanted to use my villa for awhile. She was a little worried about the payment, so I told her you would pay for her when you got back." Evangeline smirked evilly.

Negi shuddered. The idea of paying Evangeline made him feel a little worried. Between paying for Ku Fei and his training sessions he would dry up like a prune. Still, the idea that she was practicing magic was what took precedent. He wondered how far she had managed to come in his absence. If she was anything like she was in he Kenpo training, she could make some very fast progress.

"Master?"

"Ask her that yourself bouya." Negi blanched. It scared him that she seemed to know, just what he was thinking. "And by the way. That suit really does look good on you."

When she walked by, Negi felt something and jumped. Did Evangeline just pinch his butt?! He blushed and turned back around. "Are you alright Negi-sensei? Your face is all red."

"Ma-Madoka-san, n-n-nothings wrong!"

After the party, Negi was chatting happily with Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna. He never got the chance to talk to Ku Fei about her practicing magic. There was always tomorrow though. Kamo had eaten himself to sleep and was resting on Setsuna's shoulder. He always wondered how he could do that. He looked at his watch and sighed.

"It's almost time for me to go to bed. I guess if I want to take a bath I better do it now."

Asuna and Konoka gasped. "Negi-kun…you _want_ to take a bath?"

"THAT'S IT!" Asuna shouted. "You hate baths. Why do you want to take one all of a sudden?" She demanded.

Negi seemed to scramble for an excuse. "Um…I got used to them."

"In five days?"

"Why not?" He asked sheepishly.

"Then I'll join you!" Konoka squealed. "Come on, let's drop off Kamo-kun and get ready." She grabbed Asuna and Setsuna and pulled them towards the dorms.

"Ojou-sama!" Setsuna pleaded feebly.

Asuna watched Negi's retreating back. Something was going on with him.

* * *

"All I'm saying is that it's weird! He's been acting funny ever since he came back!"

Asuna, Konoka, and Setsuna made their way to the baths. They had towels on and were desperate to get into the hot water.

"To be fair Asuna, you always thought Negi-kun was kind of weird." Konoka said with a laugh. "You didn't like him when he first came here. Remember?"

"That's different," Asuna protested.

"SHHHHHH!" Setsuna hissed.

"What is it Secchan?"

"Come here. Listen," she whispered.

Asuna and Konoka leaned into the door. They could hear Negi talking on the other side. But who was he talking to? If a girl saw him in there they would freak out. No other guys could even get in there. His voice was raised and he sounded angry.

"I told you I don't want to think about that!" He had to have been yelling for them to hear him through the doors.

"Who's he talking to? Setsuna asked. The others shrugged.

"Yes I realize that! I know I promised I would help you! No! This is a two way street! You're going to have to help me to you know! I-I don't care how strong you are!"

"I think we better get in there." Asuna replied.

She opened the doors and hurried quickly and quietly into the baths. Setsuna and Konoka followed her, staying close behind. They could just see Negi's head above the water. "I should have never agreed to this!" He growled in a much softer voice. The trio of girls edged closer. They couldn't see anyone else besides t him in the room. So who was he talking to? The girls got closer and he tensed up. "I have to go. I have to go!"

The girls looked at each other then back at Negi. They knew that he knew they were there. He was just ignoring them. "Negi-kun…are you okay?"

Negi turned his head, acting surprised to see them. "Konoka-san! I'm fine!"

"Were you talking to yourself?" Asuna asked. Her scrutinizing glare made him flinch.

He turned around and showed them his cell phone. "I was talking on my cell phone."

"Oh…cause you were shouting for awhile," Setsuna said nervously.

Some of the color in Negi's face drained. "N-No I'm fine," he stammered. He cleared his throat and said, "Did you happen to bring an extra towel?" Konoka wordlessly and handed him the extra towel she brought for him. "Ugh…do you guys mind?"

The girls blushed and turned their backs to him without question. Negi pulled himself from the water, some of it splashed onto the stone. He wrapped the towel around his waist and gathered up his suit. He walked past them, holding his towel around him.

"I'm turning in for the night." He raised his free hand and gave a quick wave.

"What's happened to you?" Asuna whispered.

* * *

"Damn," Negi sighed. He was in his pajamas and already in bed. Kamo dozed in his bed made of panties. Asuna and Konoka weren't back yet. "How could I have been so careless? If I didn't have my cell phone to use as an excuse, I would have a lot of explaining to do. I just have to be careful until I'm ready."

Negi dropped his head back against his pillow. He wondered for a brief moment if he would have _those_ nightmares again. With those last unsettling thoughts he drifted off into a restless sleep.

**END CHAPTER**

**That's the end of chapter 4. If you want to know more come and read the next chapter. First, review and tell me how I'm doing, I'll update soon. Until then! **


	5. Chapter 5: My Master! My Student!

**What's up all you loyal viewers?! Thank you once again for the reviews you have been kind enough to send me. I'm trying to update every day; so here's today chapter!**

**Me: Chachamaru, will you please read the disclaimer.**

**Ku: Why are you so nice to her?**

**Chacha: Of course Mako-sama. Mako-sama, does not own Negima, except for original characters.**

**Me: That's why! On with our story.**

**CHAPTER 5: My Master My Student!**

Negi opened his eyes, the biting cold of marble floors stabbed at his back. He pushed himself up tall fours, trying to regain his senses. He was nauseous and a little lightheaded. When he calmed down enough he pushed himself onto his knees. He opened his eyes and noticed that he wasn't in his room anymore. His staff, maps, potions, and computer were all gone. Asuna and Konoka were nowhere to be seen. His eyes opened wide in wonder. The floor was black and white shining marble. The walls were black, blue flamed torches lit the walls, giving it an ethereal feeling. Along the walls were crimson colored tapestries. On one the Latin words 'Moderatio Est Figmentus' were scripted in fancy silver letters. Below that were the words, 'Obscuritas Consumo,' in the same script.

'_Well that's comforting.' _Negi thought sarcastically. "Where am I?...I feel like I know this place…"

Negi rose to his feet, grateful that the lightheaded feeling was gone. On either side of him the room was shrouded in shadows. It looked like a never ending corridor. The light patter of Negi's bare feet echoed in the empty hall. A sound like a small explosion echoed around the dark walls. He jumped and turned around. A large white door appeared in the middle of the shadows. It had no walls surrounding it; it just stood on its own against the darkness.

"That door wasn't there before," he whispered. "Now I'm a little scared."

Despite his mounting fear he walked cautiously to the large door. It was his only way out. Just as he was about to turn the silver knob the door opened on its own. "Fair enough," he muttered." Steeling himself, he walked through the door way. This room was different. The floor was now covered with a carpet of the deepest crimson. It felt soft under his feet, but still extremely cold. The walls had changed to normal grey stone with a rough looking texture. The torches on the wall were lit with black fire. Long mirrors were embedded into the wall. The continued down the length of the entire hall. _'This is leading to a really weird place.' _The sound of a door slamming made him jump. He turned around and found that the large white doorway had disappeared. "Figures." With no other place to go, he walked down the hall.

The mirrors showed him just as he looked: messy red hair, big chestnut eyes, and his navy blue pajamas. He walked by one mirror and stopped. It wasn't his reflection in the mirror. He was wearing the same wine colored cape he had worn when he came back from his training. The figure had two glowing eyes of different colors. Those weren't his eyes glowing evilly in the dark. That wasn't his long white hair or strange marks on his arm. That couldn't be him. He raised his right arm and the figure in the mirror did the same.

Negi jumped back and backed up against the opposite wall. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jolted. He turned around and found himself staring into a different reflection. This one looked like him. Only it was dressed in a white hooded cloak. Negi looked back and forth between the two reflections. Evil on his right and good on his left.

"Negi the darkness…it calls for you…heed the call…"

The evil reflections words were like poison in his mind.

"Do no listen to the creatures of the dark…darkness is a world of lies and false power…the light will always defeat the darkness…"

Negi listened to both views. Neither path seemed right. He always believed in making his own.

"Darkness will conquer this realm and the next! Its power is incomparable!"

"Stop it!"

"The light will pierce the dark!"

"Stop!"

The whispers went on inside of his head. Negi closed his ears trying to block out the voices. Still they came. He growled out in anger. Power crackled around his hands.

"I said…SHUT UP!"

He fired a bolt of magical energy at the good reflection. The mirror shattered into a million pieces. He turned around and violently slammed his fist into the evil mirror. It shattered the glass cutting into his hand. Scarlet blood oozed from the slits in his hand. Sounds of glass breaking filled the hall for a brief second. Negi stared at his hands and dropped down to his knees. He felt the two entities from the mirror warring inside him.

The walls, torches and mirrors were engulfed by the darkness. Soon the darkness surrounded him and he was left alone in a small circle of light. The blood dripping from his hand pooled on the floor. It slowly began to crawl up his body. It snaked its way up his arms, towards his face. Negi struggled against the blood to no avail. It trailed up, covering his face. It started to force its way into his eyes and his mouth. It wanted to consume him completely.

"Negi-kun?"

Negi turned on his side. Something else was shaking him. What was it now? He shot up from his bed; there was a feminine scream and a loud thump. Negi was drenched in a cold sweat. He glanced over the edge of his loft. Konoka was sitting on the ground rubbing her bottom.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Negi pulled off his sheets and jumped down beside Konoka. "K-Konoka-san are you okay?" He asked in a breathless voice.

Konoka shook her head sheepishly. "I'm fine. I'm more startled than hurt. What about you. You were shaking and you're all sweaty."

"Just a dream…"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"…No," he whispered. He stood up and offered her a hand.

Konoka let him help her up. She stared at him in concern. "Are you sure?"

"…"

"Alright then." She felt a little dejected at his reluctance to talk to her. "I made some Onigri (sp?) for breakfast. It's at the counter."

Negi walked wordlessly into the kitchen. He wasn't paying any attention to where he was going and bumped into a trashcan. He glared at the offending trashcan, and picked up one of the rice balls. He put another one on a plate and brought it out to the main room. Konoka was busy pouring some tea into two cups. There was another place set at the small glass table. Negi could here running water and assumed Asuna was still in the shower. He sat down across from Konoka and handed her the plate.

Konoka smiled gratefully. "Arigatou, Negi-kun."

Negi gave her a faint smile and nodded. He yawned then picked up his cup of tea. He was thankful it was the weekend. He didn't think he could take class today. An awkward silence reigned over breakfast that morning. Konoka, who usually liked to talk during meals, became oddly silent. Negi made no move to try and start a conversation either. His mind was still on the nightmare he had last night. It was much more vivid and real than any before. He had been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Asuna sit down at the table.

Asuna looked between Konoka and Negi. The two of them were never quiet during meals. "Did something happen while I was in the shower?" She asked, placing her plate of Onigri down.

Negi looked at Asuna as if she had just appeared out of nowhere. "Nothing happened," He said unconvincingly.

"Really? Because I thought I heard a thump while I was in the shoulder."

"It's no big deal," Konoka said. She poured Asuna some tea and smiled. "Negi-kun just had a bad dream."

"What kind of bad dream?" Asuna asked quickly. She was unable to keep the worry out of her voice.

Negi gave her a more convincing smile. "Like Konoka-san said, it's nothing to worry about. I think I'll go and take a shower now."

He climbed up onto his loft, careful not to crush the sleeping Kamo. He grabbed some clothes and climbed back down the ladder. Just as he was about to go into the bathroom, Asuna called out to him.

"Negi?"

"Hm?" He turned his head to look at her.

"If you were in trouble, you would tell me. Right?" She asked quietly.

Negi smiled and nodded. "Of course." He gave her a quick thumbs up and walked into the bathroom.

"I hope so."

Knock Knock Knock 

"I'll get it," Konoka replied. She walked over and opened up the door. "Oh, Secchan! And Ku Fei- chan!"

"Good morning Ojou-sama." Setsuna bowed slightly at the waist.

"Nihao!" Ku Fei greeted in her energetic manner. "Is Negi-bozu here?" She shifted a black duffel bag on her shoulder.

"He's in the shower right now. Why don't you come in? I made some Onigri, plenty for everyone."

Negi stepped out of the shower several minutes later. He toweled himself off and got dressed. He pulled on a pair of light blue jeans and a black t-shirt. He was about to walk out of the door when he noticed the mirror. He raised a shaking hand and wiped the steam covered mirror. It was him, just as he was supposed to look. He groaned and opened the door. Stupid dreams had him paranoid now! He heard some extra voices and stepped outside. Setsuna and Ku Fei were talking to Asuna and Setsuna. Ku Fei seemed extra excited about something.

"Good morning Setsuna-san. Good morning Ku Fei-san." He gave them both a smile. He was feeling much better now.

"Good morning Negi-sensei," Setsuna greeted.

Ku Fei turned to look at him. Kamo was on her shoulder chowing down on a rice ball. "Negi-bozu!" She jumped up and grabbed his wrist. "You come with me now."

"Eh? Go where?" Negi asked in confusion.

"There are new members in the Martial Arts Club. I have to give demonstrations. You want to help?"

Negi took in her profile with more scrutiny. She was wearing an outfit very similar to when she fought in the tournament. The only difference was that the color was a dark green that matched her eyes. Her leggings were white in color. The colors stood out against her bronze skin. Negi wasn't really in the mood for a martial arts demonstration. When he looked at Ku Fei's face she seemed so excited, that he couldn't say no.

"…Sure. I'll help"

"Yay! Come on, let's go!" She started to pull him towards the door.

"W-wait! I need my shoes."

"Discipline's most important thing about martial arts. You must never use the skills you learn to start a fight. Only to defend yourselves. Or to defend others."

Negi was only paying half attention to Ku Fei. This was the same speech she gave him when they started training. But he wondered why she decided to train. She knew that he wanted to use the skills for fighting. Use them in order to get more power. Why would she train him even after that? _'Its power is incomparable.' _That voice in his head. That cold raspy voice was the voice of the evil reflection from his dream. He looked down at his hands again; evil on the right and good on the left.

"Now my disciple and I'll give demonstrations of the techniques." Ku Fei turned around and saw Negi looking at his hands. Her and Kamo shared a look then looked back at Negi. "Negi-bozu? Negi-bozu?"

Negi stopped staring at his hands and looked at Ku Fei. She and Kamo were staring at him like he was crazy. "Yes master?"

"Are you alright, apprentice?"

Negi nodded. "Yes. Yes I am."

"Its demonstration time. Are you ready?" Negi nodded. Ku Fei picked Kamo up off her shoulder and placed him on the ground. "You better watch from the sides."

"You got it nee-san," he whispered. He scampered over to the side opposite of the new members.

"Bow," Ku Fei said. Negi and Ku Fei bowed to one another. She slipped into her fighting stance. "Whenever you're ready?"

Negi crouched low to the ground. He placed his right hand down at his side, his fingers were pointed toward the ground and his hand was opened. His left arm was stretched straight out and his palm was opened. Ku Fei was mildly intrigued; she had never seen him take that stance before.

Now, everyone knows that you should let your opponent make the first move. But since this was a demonstration it didn't really matter. Negi rushed forward, striking out with his open palm. Ku Fei stepped back, her right hand curled around Negi's left wrist, blocking his strike. Still holding his wrist, her left hand jabbed at his mid section. Negi shifted his weight to the right to avoid the palm thrust. He placed his right hand on the back of Ku Fei's head and pushed her forward. With her back facing him he had the advantage. He shifted his weight lower and swept his leg across the ground. Ku Fei jumped just in time and rolled to the side.

Ku Fei stared at Negi in surprise. That was the first time he ever put her off balance. She stood up and smiling, invited him to attack again. Negi took the invitation. He ran forward, with his fingers straight out e jabbed at her head. Ku Fei raised her hands in the shape of an x; she closed her wrists trapping his hand between her arms. While still standing she kicked his legs out from under him. Before she could stop herself she drove her right hand into his chest. Negi slammed into the ground hard; the air was driven from his lungs. Ku Fei jumped back horrified at what she had done. Kamo ran over and jumped on Negi's chest.

Ku Fei dropped down beside him, concern in her eyes. She couldn't believe she had done that. She had done it out of reflex, but that was still no excuse. It was just a demonstration and she got carried away. She should no better than to let her competitive side get the better of her.

"Negi-bozu, are you okay? I'm sorry it's just reflex!" She held his head up in her arms.

"But I don't like miso soup," he replied in a daze. His head lolled to the side so that he was staring blankly at Kamo. "Hello itachi."

Kamo sweat dropped. Ku Fei started to wave her arms frantically. "Demonstration is over!" She said to the people watching them. "If you're still interested, come back!"

The new members stood up and made their way out of the gym. "I hope that kid is going to be okay," said one of the girls.

"Don't worry that lid looks tough," said one of the guys.

"He's lucky to get training from someone like Captain Fei," another guy added.

Negi sat on one of the benches in the gyms training room. He shifted the ice pack to the back of his head. He could feel the bump where his head hit the training mat. It was getting bigger and it hurt like hell. He gently massaged his temple with his free hand. He was starting to get a bit of a headache in addition to the bump.

"Are you okay Aniki?" Kamo asked. He stared up at Negi while smoking a cigarette.

Negi grimaced when the ice pack hit the sore spot. "I'm fine Kamo-kun. Just have a bit of a headache."

"N-Negi-bozu?" Ku Fei walked over to him. She didn't look and directly at him and she looked really upset. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit so hard. I thought you might dodge." 

Negi stared back at Ku Fei. It looked to him like she was about to cry, he hated it when girls were upset. Negi gave her a warm smile and said, "Don't worry about it. Y-you said yourself it was a reflex. Besides I've taken harder hits." He watched Ku Fei rub her arm bashfully and an idea came to him. "…I hear Ku Fei-san is practicing magic."

The blond looked at him abruptly. "You know?"

"I saw the book and Evangeline-san told me."

"W-well I try. I'm not so good yet."

"Well why don't you show us?"

"Right here?"

"Why not. No one else is around," Kamo replied. "And the areas big enough."

"I really would like to see." Negi gave her a charming smile.

"…Okay." Ku Fei walked over to her bag and pulled out a small object. It was one of the practice wands he had showed them a while back. "I'm ready. You ready to block?"

Negi put down his ice pack and walked to the center of the room. "Go ahead." How much damage could she do after just a few days?

Ku Fei raised the moon shaped end of the wand into the air. She closed her eyes for a second to concentrate. **_"Wu Shu Wei! Septem spritus fulgaralis coeuntes sagitent inimicum. Sagitta Magica: series fulgaralis!"_**

Small orbs of magical energy gathered around Ku Fei. Seven magic arrows of lightning erupted from the orbs of energy and shot towards Negi at incredible speeds. _'Incredible! So up close, there's no way I can dodge them.' **"Reflexio!"**_ A shield of light and wind built up around his entire body. Six of the arrows hit the shield, pushing him a little bit. The seventh one went right over his head and blew a hole in the wall. Negi and Kamo stared at Ku Fei in shock. Negi felt a pair of hands on his chest and saw a pair of green eyes staring at him.

"Is Negi-bozu alright?"

Negi stared back at the girl speechless. _'Multiple magic arrows after only a few days of training.' _He saw Ku Fei leave his eyesight but it didn't register in his mind. _'Her focus is incredible. And for a beginner that spell was rather potent.'_

"AHHH! OH NO!" Negi turned around and saw his master waving her arms frantically. "I broke it! I broke the wall!"

Negi's gaze shifted to the giant hole in the wall. "ANIKI! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

Negi nodded. "Ri-right! Ku Fei-san I'll take care of this later! Ku Fei-san?"

Negi turned back around. Ku Fei was swaying back and forth, the wand clutched lightly in her hand. Negi ran forward and caught her just before she fell over. The wand hit the ground with a clank. Her eyes were shut and she appeared to be unconscious.

"Is she okay?!" Kamo asked.

Negi nodded numbly. "She's just tired." _'Like I thought. The magic tires her out real quickly.'_

"Aniki lets get outta here! Your gonna be in big trouble if we get caught!"

Negi nodded. He stood up pulling Ku Fei with him. He positioned her with her arms over his shoulders, and lifted her onto her back. He ran from the room making an awkward grab for her bag. Kamo picked up the wand in his mouth and bounded out after them.

"So what brings you here bouya?"

Negi looked at Evangeline with a nervous smile. Just as he was outside on the campus he ran into Mana. After a quick explanation about what happened she agreed to take Ku Fei back to the shrine with her. He was thankful that he had run into her. There would be a lot of questions asked if people saw him carrying her around campus. Anyways he didn't want to go back to the dorms just yet. He wanted to ask Evangeline something.

"Master, have you seen Ku Fei-san's magic?"

Evangeline shrugged carelessly. "What about it?"

"Did she train at you resort while I was gone?"

"Yeesss. For four days."

"So what you're telling me is that she spent about eight or nine days training. She can do Sagitta Magica and you aren't impressed?!" Chachamaru cam in and handed him a cup of tea. "Arigatou."

"She showed you!" Evangeline seemed surprised. "She did out here."

"She blew a hole in the gym wall!" Negi said frantically.

Evangeline leaned back in her chair, she looked a little surprised. "I thought the only reason she could do it was because she was at my resort. I thought that the extra magic floating around might have aided her. But if she can do it out here to? Now that's something to think about?"

Negi nodded. "It took me almost a month to learn Sagitta Magica with multiple arrows. She learned in about eight days."

"It seems we have a second prodigy on our hands. She could become a great magic user. Though I doubt she'll ever reach your potential." Evangeline sighed. "I think you would make the perfect teacher for her."

Negi spit out his tea in surprise. "You want me to train her?"

"Did I stutter bouya? She questioned. She picked up her own tea and took a sip. She showed him a fanged smile. "It would be a shame for such potential to go to waste. Besides if I trained her she would drive me insane."

"I-I don't know."

"Come on bouya. She was so excited to show you what she could do. It would be a shame to let her down." Evangeline giggled evilly. "Oh well. Just remember; if you decide to train her you can't skip our sessions."

"I-I guess I dint really have too much of a choice. If she wants to learn magic then I can't not help her. I am a teacher after all."

"Keep telling yourself that's why," Evangeline's voice suddenly became cold.

"Master are you getting jeal…"

"Shut up!" Evangeline blushed a deep shade of red. She leapt up on Chachamaru's shoulders and began to wind her up. "I'll wind you really good!"

"Not too tight master!" Chachamaru pleaded.

"I think Chacha-nee-san is right. Ke Ke Ke!" Chachazero cackled.

"Damn you doll!"

Negi watched the fight and knew he had to make a decision tonight.

'_I'm not so good yet.'_

Ku Fei's words played over and over again in his head. He had though about his position in this all day. He had a lot of time to think about it during the surprise training session Evangeline had thrown at him. By the time he got back to the dorms it was already dark outside. He had been training all day and was dead tired. He stumbled through the dorm hallways looking for Ku Fei's room. Finally he found it. He knocked on the door and heard some footsteps inside. The door swung open and revealed a surprised Setsuna.

"Negi-sensei," she asked in surprise, "what are you doing here."

"Is Ku Fei-san here?" He asked trying not to yawn.

"Sure, I'll get her." She disappeared.

Ku Fei bounded up to the door excitedly. "Nihao Negi-bozu. Sorry about passing out earlier." She said sheepishly.

Negi waved his hand. "Don't worry about it." He paused before asking, "D-does Ku Fei-san really want to lean magic?"

Ku Fei nodded her hair bouncing wildly. "Yes! More than anything!"

Negi smiled at her enthusiasm and shut his eyes. "I guess I have no choice then." 

"Hm?"

"I'll just have to train you myself!"

Ku Fei's eyes lit up. She hugged Negi hard, cutting off his oxygen. "Really?! You really want to train me?!"

"Sure," Negi choked out. Ku Fei let him go and pat him on the head.

"Are you sure you don't mind?-Aruyo?" She shuffled her hands nervously. "I don't want to be nuisance."

Negi shook his head. "I would be happy to teach you magic. After all you've done for me; it's the least I can do."

"Thank you Negi-roshi!"

Negi shook his head. "Let's stick to Negi-bozu."

Ku Fei laughed. "Good!"

Negi smiled at her. This might not be as bad as he thought. Ku Fei seemed really determined. And she was the most capable girl in the class. At least as far he knew. Negi wanted to give her every advantage possible. He made a silent promise that he would repay her double for all the help she gave him.

Negi smirked at her. "Make sure you get enough sleep tonight. Because tomorrow…we train."

**END CHAPTER**

**That's the end of the chapter readers. Do me a favor and tell me what you thought. Till next time!**

**WU SHU WEI: Ku Fei's key to unlock her magic. Refers to three warring kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty in China.**


	6. Chapter 6: A Force Unleashed!

**Were back and I'm high on sugar…so lets get started. First off, my traditional thanks to all of my readers out there.**

**Eternal-Longing: I feel I owe you special thanks. You really are making this a challenge. I appreciate your loyalty to the story. It's good to have a fan, especially when you are a newbie. So thank you. (I'm working on Ku Fei's magical key.)**

**Me: Makie read the disclaimer for me.**

**Makie: Negi-kun and Negima belong to Ken Akamatsu. Not Mako. He's so cute!**

**Me: Thank you!**

**Makie: I meant Negi-kun.**

**Me: I hate you all! Let's get started!**

**CHAPTER 6: A Force Unleashed!

* * *

**

Negi woke up the next morning exhausted. The combination of Evangeline's training and another night of restless sleep were already taking their toll on him. The only reason he was even up now was because he promised Ku Fei that they would start training today. What in the hell was he thinking. He should have at least given himself a day rest. And he was supposed to meet her in only an hour. How was he going to pull off a full training session? He had already had a plan that didn't require much effort. At least on his part. All he had to do was try and stay awake while Ku Fei completed the practice.

Let's see what did he have to do? He already took his shower so he could cross that off the list. Konoka was in the middle of making breakfast, so that was being taken care of. He needed to gather up the equipment they would use for the day. He took some of his staffs from the wall, so that Ku Fei could choose one for herself. Of course she would continue to use the practice wand until she was ready. Let's see he needed a magic gun, though they probably wouldn't be using that today either. Now he just needed a few texts, some potion ingredients, and a mantle. He put them all on his mat, rolled it up, and tied it tight. 'V.S. Evangeline was still written on the side.

"Breakfast is ready Negi-kun!"

Negi looked down and jumped from his loft. Konoka had already set the small coffee table in the middle of the room. Asuna was desperately trying to pick up some rice with her chopsticks. It was obvious that she was still half asleep. Negi smiled and sat down at the table across from Konoka.

"Itdakimasu," Negi replied softly. He grabbed his chopsticks and began to ravage the food in front of him.

"Negi-kun slow down!" Konoka scolded. "What if you choke or something?"

Negi swallowed the food and looked apologetically at Konoka. "Sorry Konoka-san. But I really want to eat before I go training with Ku Fei-san."

"Oh! I forgot you were gonna start training her today. Good thing it's still the weekend."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Negi looked over at Asuna. She had given up on the chopsticks and was munching on a piece of toast. "Ku Fei is a sweet girl. But don't you think teaching her magic is going to be dangerous?"

Negi and Konoka laughed at Asuna's implications. "Ku Fei is good at training. She won't do anything stupid." Konoka laughed then thought more carefully about her assessment.

Negi shook his head. "Evangeline-san thinks she has real potential and so do I. Plus, there's a theory that I want to check out. If I'm right, who knows?"

"Knows what?" Asuna asked curiously.

Negi didn't answer. He continued to eat waiting for Ku Fei to show up. When she did se was almost five minutes early. Not that that bothered him. He preferred her to show up sooner than later.

"Are you ready Negi-bozu?"

Negi nodded. "Just let me grab my equipment. By the way it's good that you're wearing pants."

"Wearing pants is good? It helps in training?" She asked curiously.

"Well it's going to help me," he said pulling his bag from the loft.

"What you have in there Negi-bozu?"

"Just some equipment that we might need. Alright, were leaving."

"Were coming with you," Asuna replied.

"You are?" Ku Fei asked.

Konoka nodded. "We have to go get Secchan. She and Asuna are going to practice their Kendo. I'm going to practice my healing spells."

Kamo leapt up onto Konoka's shoulder. "I want to see how far Master Ku can get," he replied. He was up to something.

"Alright then let's go!"

"Where are we going anyway?" Asuna asked. They were waiting by the fountain out front.

Negi stared at the ground. This was the place where he fought William for the last time. He hated to think about it, but he could remember every single move of the fight. He had remembered Albireo's words when he asked him about it. _'Does it get easier?' 'It's never as easy as it seems. But yes it will get easier.'_

Negi remembered the hollow sound of his voice when he answered that. It seemed like he was lying when he said that.

"Negi-bozu?"

Negi jumped and looked at the girls. They stared at him in concern but he just shook his head, al ready knowing what they were thinking. And when did Setsuna get here? He had to pay more attention. "I

The girls looked at each other but decided it was best not to say anything. Asuna turned to the side and saw someone that caught her eye. "Chisame-chan!"

Chisame glanced up from the ground. "Oh damn," she muttered. No matter where she went the 'Crazy Squad' was already there.

"Chisame-chan, over here!"

"Che!" She was caught. She had no choice but to go over there. Otherwise, she would here about it for the rest of the week.

"You know you sure are going out of your way to be nice to her Ane-san," Kamo said. He was leering at her from his spot on Negi's shoulder.

This seemed to gain the attention of Negi and Setsuna as well. Ku Fei and Konoka were too busy chatting to here it. Asuna glared at the ermine. If looks could kill Kamo would have been fried on the spot.

"Wh-wh-what are you implying ermine-perv?!" Asuna asked. Her face turned red from his accusations. "I just think she needs a friend! Besides I like men remember. Older men!"

"Yeah you always were a little ecchi!"

Asuna leapt forward and snagged Kamo from his perch. She slammed him hard into the ground and squished him. "Watch it!"

"So what do you want from me Kagurazaka?"

Asuna stopped crushing the ermine and looked at Chisame. "We were just going to go for some training. Do you want to come!?"

"The more the merrier," Negi replied, scooping Kamo up off of the ground.

Chisame shook her head. "I don't think so," she said tersely.

"Oh come on. You could practice Kendo with us!" Asuna offered brightly.

"I wouldn't mind teaching you if you wanted," Setsuna said with a smile.

Chisame sighed in annoyance. What was with these people? None of them could take no for an answer. It was so annoying. On the other hand she never had any act _this_ nice to her before. Since she was going to be a part of their world anyways, the logical thing would be to check them out.

"Fine." She was reluctant in her response. "But I'm not going to do any training. Got it?"

"Yep! That's good enough for me! So where are we going anyways?!"

Negi turned his head to look at her. "The ruins."

* * *

After a small trek through the woods they reached the ruins. Chisame looked around curiously around the ruins. She had heard about them before but never seen them. After a quick glance around she spotted a suitable tree. She took her computer with her and sat down at the base of the tree. She didn't need to hear about the training if she wasn't going to join in. Just surveying it once in a while would be enough. 

"Come on Asuna-san, we might as well get started. Were going to pick up from where we left off last time." Setsuna picked up Yuunagi and walked over to a clear area that was near Chisame's tree.

"Aw man. But I hate parrying!" Asuna whined, pulling out her Pactio card.

Konoka giggled at her reactions. "I'm gonna practice my healing spells. If anyone needs help just let me know."

"Will do!" Ku Fei said.

"Arigatou Konoka-san." Negi turned to Ku Fei and smiled. "Now let's get started."

"Yeah!"

Negi undid the ties on his bag and rolled it out so that the contents were displayed. Ku Fei looked at the magical supplies in a mixture of wonder and confusion.

"What is all this stuff for Negi-bozu?"

"I just wanted to go through some of the basic equipment before we begin training." He held up his magic gun. He spun it around on his finger just like the cowboys in western films. "This is a magic gun. To use it all you have to do is focus a small amount of energy into it and pull the trigger. The guns chamber greatly amplifies any magic put into it. So even a small fraction of energy can cause maximum damage. You can also by cartridges for it, but that gets expensive."

Next he pointed to the array of staffs. "These are magic staffs. You use these as a conduit to store then release your magic."

"Can you do magic without a staff?" Ku Fei asked.

"…Well it is possible. But I takes a lot of practice to use just your hands. The only reason I can do it is because of the ring Evangeline-san gave me. Most magister don't consider it worth the trouble. Now, why don't you pick out the staff you want?"

"Really? I can pick any one I want!-Aru!"

Negi chuckled. "Yes. I find it better if the mage picks their own staff."

Ku Fei put her finger to her chin in thought. "I want this one!" She picked up one of the staffs. At the top of it was a small blue orb. The orb was perched atop what looked like angel wings. The bottom of the staff formed into a blade like a spearhead.

Negi smiled. It was a staff that could be used at close range if need be. It suited her perfectly. "Good. But you are going to have to use the practice wand until you get better."

"Okay!" She gave the staff an experimental twirl and sat against the wall. "What about that stuff." She pointed to the rest of the items.

Negi looked at the potion materials and the mantle. "We can get to that stuff later. Are you ready to begin the real training?"

"Let's see what you got Negi-bozu!"

"First I need to know two things. First of all: Do you want to be a Magic Swordsman type or a Mage type?"

"What is difference?"

"A Magic Swordsman type mixes close range combat and spells together. A Mage fires spells from the back line and let's his/her partners take care of close range combat."

"I think I know. But what type are you?"

"Magic Swordsman."

"Good. Seems like more fun. That's what I want."

"Alright. I think that type suits you better anyways." He gave her a smile and she smiled back. "Ugh, anyways, I also want to know if your family has any magical history."

"Not sure. I never met a mage before. Not until Negi-bozu anyways. Is it important?"

"No, no not really. I'm just thinking of something. So let's get started. There's your first training exercise."

Ku Fei looked to where he was pointing. Dozens of square wooden pegs were sticking out of the ground. "Balancing pegs?" She asked in confusion.

Negi nodded. "I set them up last night. Your spell yesterday was impressive but you wore your self out after just one. The lesson for today is learning to apply an even amount of magical energy at a constant rate."

"So if I practice this I won't get tired?"

"It might take you awhile but you will get used to it. Using up magic energy has the same results as using up chi." Ku Fei nodded. "So you have to learn how to apply evenly and strengthen it."

"So reason I'm getting tired is because I use too much magic?"

"Exactly."

"Okay. How balancing pegs going to help?"

"Let me demonstrate."

Negi focused some magic energy into his right hand and then his left. He bent down and placed his hands on top of two of the pegs. He pushed himself off of his feet so that he was doing a handstand on top of the pegs. Ku Fei stared at him hard. Except for some good balance she didn't think there was anything special about it. Then she saw it. His hands weren't touching the pegs. A layer of magic was between his hands and the pegs. It was the magic that was holding him up!

"You want to use your magic to hold you up," he said, dismounting form the pegs.

"Oooh! I see. How do you do it?"

"What do you do when you discharge chi?"

"Focus the chi into your hand and release it through your palm."

"You do the same here just with magic. Focus the magical energy into palms and keep it there."

"Okay?" Ku Fei took out her wand and focused her magic. "Wu Wei Shu!" An orb of magic appeared in her hand and then flickered out. She tried a couple more times with the same result. "It's not working." She replied in annoyance.

Kamo watched the two of them. He had been silent until now. "Try suppressing your chi first. Until you learn how to use both, they won't work together."

"That right Kamo-kun. I forgot about that entirely. Do it and then try again."

Ku Fei did as she was told and suppressed her chi. After a few more tries she was finally able to get the magic to focus in the palms of her hands. "Got it."

"Good! Now, balance yourself on the pegs."

"Piece of sticky bun?" She replied confidently.

Um, you mean cake."

"Cake?-Aruyo?"

Negi and Kamo looked at one another. "Never mind. Just do it."

Ku Fei bent her body forward and pulled into a handstand. Instead of staying on the pegs she slipped off and fell on her back. Negi chuckled and offered her a hand.

"Too thin of a layer of magic and you wont be able to hold yourself up." He helped her to her feet.

"You could have told me." She pouted.

"Ha! Ha! Then you wouldn't have learned your lesson. Just try it again."

"Okay." She focused the magic into her hands and got ready to try again.

"Of course it works the opposite way as well. Too much magical energy and you'll (CRRRRAACCK!) break it?"

"Ouch!" She started to rub the back of her head.

"Start over again."

**About 5 Hours Later**

Chisame yawned tiredly. Those idiots had been at it for almost five hours now. If nothing else she had to give them credit for determination. She had finished the revisions she wanted to make on her homepage early. Now she just sat and watched the screen. Every once in awhile she would take a look at what the others were doing. Konoka had finished her practices early and was reading a book now. The brat teacher and the yellow baka had been doing something with wooden pegs for the last 4 ½ hours. It didn't look like it was going too well. The most interesting training session was happening right in front of her.

Setsuna and Asuna had been working on parrying for most of the session. Asuna was a decent swordsman but she couldn't block worth a damn. She watched Setsuna beat her again and again since the session began. In way she was glad that Asuna was getting beaten so soundly. It served the redheaded baka right for always pulling her along. But another part of her felt bad for the girl. She was trying her best to learn Kendo so that she could protect her friends. Hell, she was even willing to get the hell beat out of her to do it. That in itself was worth some kind of praise.

Chisame winced. Setsuna had just parried another of Asuna's attacks and gave her a particularly painful looking whack on the back of the head. Asuna dropped to her knees and began to fiercely rub her head.

"You have to learn how to recover from a parry! If this was a real fight you would be dead!" Setsuna reprimanded.

"If this was a real fight I'd run!" Asuna cried. She picked her Harisen up and got back into her stance.

'_She's just trying to be nice to you.'_ A voice in Chisame's head chided. _'You could try being just a little nicer to her.'_ Chisame sighed and fixed her glasses. She knew that the voice was right.

Asuna grunted with the effort of trying to keep up with Setsuna. The other girl was just way too good for her. As usual Setsuna had been dominating for most of the training session. She was glad Setsuna wasn't taking it easy on her. However, she also mourned for the hundreds of brain cells she must have lost during this session. Setsuna attacked her again, keeping the pressure on her. Out of surprise she caused Asuna to back up. The redheads feet tangled and she tripped over herself more than anything. All she could do was brace herself for the impact.

"OOF!"

"OOF!"

That wasn't the kind of impact Asuna had expected. Whatever she landed on was much softer than the ground. "Kagurazaka?"

Asuna opened her eyes and saw Chisame staring back at her. "Chisame-chan?"

"Kagurazaka, can you please get off of me?"

"Hm? AH!" So that's why her landing was so soft. She had ended up landing in Chisame's lap! She jumped up and stuck her tongue out in an apologetic manner. "Heh, sorry." Her face was starting to heat up.

Chisame sighed. Instead of chewing her out she'd let this one slide. "Don't worry about it this time."

Asuna nervous face broke into a grateful smile. "Arigatou."

"Asuna-san." She turned around and saw Setsuna place Yuunagi back in it's sheathe. "Training is done for the day. You still need more work. But you've gotten much better. I'm proud of you."

Asuna rubbed her head in embarrassment. "Arigatou."

"Secchan!" Konoka ran up and put her hands on Setsuna's shoulders. "Can you teach me some? Please?"

"Ojou-sama," Setsuna wanted to protest. Unfortunately, Konoka was giving her a deadly puppy dog pout. Setsuna smiled and placed her hand on Konoka's head, "Sure, come one."

"YAY!" Konoka cheered She followed Setsuna back off to the side.

Asuna smiled at the two of them. She had realized some time ago the feelings that those two had shared for one another. Setsuna was just oblivious to her own feelings, or she was too scared to say anything. She was sure that the reason Konoka didn't say anything, was because she was afraid of scaring Setsuna off. Oh well. There was nothing that could be done about it now. Until they realized how they felt she would just have to wait. Asuna looked at Chisame who was back to doing something on her laptop.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Chisame looked up from her computer, surprised to see that Asuna was still there. "I guess."

Asuna smiled and sat down next to the net idol. "What are you working on?"

"My site."

"Really?! Let me see." Before Chisame could resist, Asuna grabbed the computer from her lap. There was a picture of Chisame, or rather Chiu, on the screen. She was dressed entirely in black. A black skirt, black sleeveless shirt, black stockings and even a pair of tiny black wings on her back. The caption over the picture read, 'Bilion Roulin Rouge.' Another picture was that of Chiu in her pink and white dress. Asuna had never seen the pictures before. There was no other way for her to say it, Chisame was beautiful.

"Can I have that back now?"

Asuna snapped from her thoughts and looked at Chisame. The net idol was staring at her like she was denser than wood. She hastily handed the computer back, uttering a quick apology. Her cheeks began to heat up again. _'What the hell? Why am I blushing? And why is my heart starting to beat faster? Damn that ermine! He's gotten me all flustered. Still…what is that about?'_

Negi stared at his hand. He definitely had it won this time. "Three of a kind!" He said, lacing the cards down.

Kamo shook his head. "Sorry Aniki, full house!"

Negi sighed in annoyance. That was the fifth hand in a row! Since the training had started Ku Fei had broken four more sets of pegs. All the rest of the times she had just slipped right off. Just a little while ago Negi told her to take a break, but she insisted on continuing. She wanted to keep trying until she got it right. Negi, having given her all of the advice he could, started to play cards with Kamo. Though after five hours, it seemed less and less likely that she would complete the training today.

Negi checked his watch. It was almost 12 in the afternoon. Not only that but it looked like there were some seriously gray clouds overhead. It looked like it would probably rain sometime. He took a glance around to see what the others were doing. Asuna had stopped training and was sitting next to Chisame. She looked a little flustered and seemed to try no to look at her companion. Setsuna and Konoka had settled into a playful kind of sword training. But they should start to head back soon. It was a way's back to campus and they didn't want to get caught in the rain. He was just about to end the training session when…

"Negi-bozu look!"

Negi turned around and Kamo looked up from the cards he was shuffling. (AN: Don't ask how an ermine can shuffle cards.) Ku Fei was on one of the last sets of pegs. There was a thin layer of yellow and blue magic between her hands and the pegs. Kamo dropped his cards and stared slack jawed at her.

"NO WAY!"

Negi smirked and whispered, "I knew it! Ku Fei-san, keep an even flow of magic for as long as you can!"

Ku Fei gave him a slight nod and concentrated on the task at hand. The others had heard the commotion and came to see what was happening. Ku Fei held up for another 15 seconds before the magic started to fail. With a short squeak she slipped off the pegs again. Negi slid across the ground catching her just before she hit the ground. Somehow Negi ended up on his knees with Ku Fei straddling his waist. His face was just inches away from hers. Ku Fei stared back at him, her face lit up with excitement.

"Did you see?! Did you see?! Whys your face all red Negi-bozu?" Negi pointed down, whimpering something. Ku Fei looked down and her face turned an even deeper shade of red than his. She jumped up and scratched her head. "S-s-sorry Negi-bozu." She helped him up.

"Ku Fei that was cool," Asuna commended.

"Yeah you were really good. Right Negi-kun."

Negi started to laugh. It wasn't the same as his normal laugh. It was almost the same laugh that Kotarou had when he found a strong opponent. It was almost crazy in a way. After a couple of seconds he stopped and looked at Ku Fei.

"Perfect," he said a whisper. "You really did well Ku Fei-san. Come on everyone. Lunch is one me!"

The others watched Negi and Kamo pick up their stuff and leave the ruins with confused looks on their faces. Then the idea of a free lunch got through and they followed. Just as they reached the campus they saw Mana coming off of patrol. Kotarou, Kaede, Evangeline and Chachamaru were with her.

"Oi Negi!" Kotarou walked up to him and high-fived him. "Where the hell have you been? Training?" He asked, noticing the bag.

"Sort of. Hey, do you guys want to come to lunch with us?"

"Count me out bouya. I've been hanging out with you all for too long."

"Come on! I'm paying!"

"…I'm in."

* * *

"So how did training go?" Evangeline asked. "Not that I care. I'm just a little curious." 

The group had made their way downtown to the shopping district. Negi hung at the back of the group with Evangeline, Mana and Kotarou.

"What kind of training was it anyway?" Kotarou asked.

Negi smiled at him. "Magic training for Ku Fei-san."

Mana whipped her head around to look at him. Her face only cracked a little but the surprise could be seen. "Ku, is practicing magic?"

"Yes. And the training went well for the day." He gave them a brief account of what happened. "It took a bit of time, but she got the exercise done. Master you don't think…."

"She may very well be a genius," Evangeline said.

"Sorry but I couldn't help but overhear." Asuna stepped back to join them. "I like Ku Fei a lot but she's no genius."

"Being a genius doesn't have to mean doing well in school," Kotarou said. "Negi's referring to the fact that she has natural talent. Judging from he's told me just now, she has a lot of it."

"Wow," Asuna replied. "Who would've thought? She always seemed like just a physical fighter."

"Yeah," Negi agreed. He smiled as he watched Ku Fei lead Kaede over to a vendor with sticky buns. _'It's cute the way she gets excited over stuff like that. Wait! Did I just think that about a student? No! It's just a thought, that's all.'_

"Hey Negi! Don't you think Ku Fei's cute?" Kotarou asked.

Negi spluttered and looked at his friend. "W-w-w-what d-do you mean? Sh-shes alright I guess."

"Then why are you blushing?" Asuna asked. She and Kotarou were smirking at him.

"I am not!"

"Negi Springfield-san?" A man in a pair of leather pants and a white t-shirt addressed him. Behind him were two other guys, dressed exactly the same. The apparent leader had deep black hair. "My name is Ryuji. And this Satoshi and Yoshino." He pointed to the red haired and green haired companions respectively.

Negi was about to step forward when Mana suddenly leapt inbetween Negi and the three men. "Don't get any closer!" She ordered. In a flash she drew one of her guns from under her skirt and pointed it at the three men.

"Tatsumiya-nee-chan?" Kotarou asked.

"These men are demons!"

Satoshi laughed. "Good eyes nee-chan."

"Your not even going to deny it?!" Asuna asked.

"What's the point?" Yoshino asked. "Now that you know, it makes our task easier."

"That's right. And here it is." In a flash Ryuji produced a dagger from his shirt. It was an inhuman speed that only Mana seemed to notice.

"KAEDE!"

The ninja turned around and saw the tip of a knife just centimeters from her face. Blood was dripping down the blade of the knife. Negi pulled his hand down and looked at the knife that was sticking through it. The others rushed to his side. Mana fired a few errant shots and the demons managed to dodge out of the way.

Kaede and Ku Fei had already started to fuss over his injury by the time the others got there. "Hold still Negi-bozu.-De Gozaru." Kaede pulled the knife out with a sharp pull.

Negi cried out in pain and Konoka took over for her Kaede jumped in front of Negi with the others. Setsuna and Asuna already had their blades drawn. Evangeline had pulled out her potions and Chachamaru slipped into her fighting stance. Mana drew her second gun and Kaede pulled out her knives. After doing a quick check on her sensei, Chisame ran about using their standby excuse. They were filming a movie.

"What are you playing at with that cheap shot!" Kotarou shouted angrily. "You attack a girl and from behind at that! You damn cowards!"

The demons laughed. "You're a brave one kid," Satoshi sneered. "But shouldn't you be off on a play date, or something."

"Don't underestimate me!" He drew some knives from the inside of his coat.

Mana smirked. "You really shouldn't. You already got lucky once. I rarely miss once. And I never miss twice!"

"I admire the courage from you all," Ryuji smirked, "but we only want the son of the Thousand Master."

"You need to worry about us!" Kotarou growled. He started to move, but stopped dead in his tracks. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. _'What kind of power is that? The air is thick with it! And it's right behind me.'_

From the looks of it the others noticed it as well. They turned around shocked at what they saw. Konoka and Ku Fei had jumped off to the side. They looked fear stricken. Where Negi had just been sitting there was something else. It looked like Negi but it couldn't possibly be him. An aura of magic was erupting around him like an uncontrollable fire. It filled the air making crackling noises. It was stronger than almost any magical signature the girls ever felt. It was large, powerful, and…sinister.

**END CHAPTER**

**That's the end of the chapter. Don't forget to review for me. Till next time!.**


	7. Chapter 7: Ultimate Battle Technique Rev

**Ohaio everyone! How's it going? I hope I find you all in high spirits and expectations for this chapter. Thank you all for reviewing and reading so far. I hope I can keep you all interested. **

**Mana: Mako does not own Negima. Negima is owned by Ken Akamatsu.**

**Me: Arigatou Mana! I didn't even have to ask you:)**

**Mana: Where's my money?**

**Me: Crap. :(

* * *

**

**CHAPTER 7: Ultimate Battle Technique Revealed!**

"You should be worried about me!"

Kotarou froze dead in his tracks. The energy coming from behind him was powerful, almost unnatural in its flow. He wasn't the only one that noticed it. The girls were frozen in place and staring in stunned horror at the source of the energy. Negi. His aura of magic had erupted into a black, red, and purple flame. The flame continued to grow until it was like a surging fire around his entire being. Even the demons that attacked them noticed the change. It wasn't a small change either. Just what was happening to here? Konoka and Asuna backed away from the figure that was once their teacher.

The difference was noticeable to anyone with the smallest intelligence. By now the entire crowd around them was staring in fascination. Of course they though it was just some kind of cg animation. Chisame noticed the change and walked slowly back towards the group. The aura around Negi shrank down until it was just a thin layer surrounding his body. His clothes had changed during the energy surge. His entire body was covered by an ankle length cloak. The cloak was the color of blood. On the back of the cloak was a silver Gothic style cross. Negi stood up; he was also much taller than before. He was just around Mana's height, maybe a little bit shorter. Evangeline stared at the cross on his back, she knew it from somewhere.

The girls plus Kotarou stood stock still. They were either too shocked to move or too scared. The only one that seemed half capable of making a move at this point was Mana. Her hands tightened around her guns. She had exterminated many demons in her career and met many others. However she had never experienced a power source like this before. Negi, if it was him, kept his eyes on the ground. The hood covered his head, making it impossible to see his face.

Raising a now gloved hand, he pointed at the three demons. "Kotarou," his voice was a bit deeper now, "if they want to fight me then let them."

Kotarou's hand began to shake just a little bit. When Negi said his name he felt like he had been doused by a bucket of ice water. He steadied his hand and relented his fighting stance.

"Now, if you're still interested shall we take this somewhere else?" The figure in the red cloak jumped high into the air. Without turning around he landed on top of the department store that was just behind them.

Again the girls were a little too stunned to move. The three demons however ran towards them and with inhuman strength leap high into the air. Kotarou cursed and leapt after them, followed by Kaede and then Mana. Evangeline ordered Chachamaru to take her up to the rooftops. The robot picked her master up and activated the boosters in her feet. It seemed like these actions snapped the others out of their daze. Ku Fei built up the ki in her legs and leapt into the air. Setsuna picked Konoka up in her arms and jumped after her. Asuna was next, she picked up Chisame (to the latter's protests) and leapt to the top of the roofs.

When Asuna touched down she set Chisame on her feet. The red cloaked figure looked like he was having a stare down with the demons. The others stood behind him, waiting to see what would happen next. The roof was perfect, from a combat point of view. It was large enough to have a proper fight. It was also out of the eyesight of the normal people.

"Who sent you?"

Satoshi smiled at him. "No one sent us."

"That's right," Yoshino replied. "We'll be the demons famous for the destruction of the Thousand Master's son!"

"I guess that's it then."

The figure reached up and grabbed the front of his cloak. With one swift tug the cloak came undone and was flung to the side. It was indeed Negi under the cloak. Only, he looked older. He was about fourteen now. His hair had gotten longer but was still the same flame red color. It had gotten longer and fell down to his shoulders. He was tall now too, taller than Asuna but not quite as tall as Mana. His physique was probably the greatest physical change. In addition to being tall he was also lanky. His back and arm muscles weren't crazy like the guys on the covers of magazines. They were however well toned, fitting his new 'looks' perfectly.

Negi's appearance didn't change in physical traits only. His clothes were also different. His shirt turned into a skin tight black vest. The vest was sleeveless and appeared to cover his entire neck. On the back was the same silver cross, outlined in red. Leather pants fitted to his form perfectly, he looked almost like a biker. His boots were leather combat boots that were about knee high. Silver were on the front of the boots. On the heel and toe of the shoes there were exposed metal. His hands were clad in fingerless black leather gloves.

Again nobody said a word. Though if most of the girls were honest they were staring at his new looks. Negi ran a hand through his long red hair, as if three demons challenging him was an every day occurrence. Then again, it kind of was.

"Are you sure that you won't reconsider?" He asked.

Ryuji laughed at him. "Do you really think that a simple transformation scares us? After were done with you, were gonna have some fun with those nee-chans." He gave Negi a lascivious grin. This was followed by laughs from the others.

Setsuna raised Yuunagi and stepped in front of Konoka. Asuna raised her sword and stepped in front of Chisame, the only other non-combatant. Kotarou stepped to the front of the girls. He had no idea what was going on here. He did know that none of the demons would touch these girls.

Negi raised his head and stared icily at the demons. "Don't hate me for this," he whispered.

Negi raised both of his arms in the air. Just around each of his wrists was a build up of black energy. Something had started to appear on his arms. On the right arm, small flame like tattoos appeared and began to cover the length of his arms. The same thing was happening on his left arm. The only difference was that these tattoos were lines with no discernable pattern. The tattoos continued to cover his shoulder and snaked their way up to his face. For a second the tattoos glowed a bright purple, then returned to normal black.

Negi lowered his arms back down to his sides. One second he was standing there and the next his body flickered. In a series of movements, unseen bye the naked eye he was behind the demons. He moved so quickly that his touches on there bodies felt like the wind. All of this happened in an instant and he was standing back in the spot he was in previously. For the first time fear could be seen in the demons eyes.

"Aniki wh-what's…?"

Negi turned his head to look at them. A gasp escaped their lips. Even Evangeline and Mana looked a bit frightened. Negi looked exactly like he did when he took, the age deceiving pills, with two major differences. One was the marks that now covered his face. The second change was his eyes. The pupil of the right eye was a glowing orb with a dark purple hue. His left eye was glowing a bright red. His bangs hung down over his eyes, making them look even creepier. The evil smirk on his face wasn't helping any.

"Stay out of the way," he said. He turned his back to them.

Ryuji stared back at Negi. Beads of sweat poured down his face. _'What the hell is he?! When he touched us he moved so fast. And that wasn't instant movement, it was his normal speed! If were demons, then he's a monster.' _"Attack him!"

Neither Satoshi nor Yoshino moved. They had started to shake.

"I said attack him now," Ryuji ordered. He feared for his one safety.

Satoshi and Yoshino pulled black glowing knives from there belts. They rushed forward, Satoshi leading the attack. Negi rushed forward at high speed. He dodged around Satoshi so fast that the demon didn't even notice. Yoshino leapt into the air and prepared to throw his knives. Suddenly there was a pull on his legs and he found himself falling to the ground. Negi pulled sharply on the magic strings he attached during his pre-emptive strike. The pull brought Yoshino towards him. Yoshino was only a foot away from him and a foot off of the ground. Negi jumped onto his enemy; he placed his hands on Yoshino's shoulders and dug his feet into his chest. He kicked off of Yoshino, driving the back of his head into the roof, and shot forward at incredible speed.

Ryuji tried to activate a barrier but was too slow. Negi's fist connected hard with his jaw, flinging him to the ground. He turned around and raised his left hand. A sword appeared out of thin air. The blade was flat and wide and black in color. The end of the blade looked like it had a slight curve. Just as soon as the sword appeared three knives hit the blade and exploded with magical energy. The result kicked up clouds of smoke around Negi.

"GOT 'IM!" Satoshi shouted. His eyes suddenly shot to the air.

Negi was in the air above him, a second sword was in his right hand. This sword had a silver dragon as the hilt. The dragon's eyes were emerald in color. Come out of the dragons mouth was a long silver blade. The blade itself was long and curved in and out. Satoshi raised some more knives just in time. Negi twisted so that his back was facing Satoshi. He swung the dragon sword in a wide horizontal arc, slamming it hard into the knives. The force of the blow knocked Satoshi back. He raised his daggers to throw but he was already dead.

The red head looked down at his chest. Blackish blood flowed from the six deep slashes in his chest. He turned his head to see Negi behind him. "…So…fast…" His body crumpled to the ground in a heap.

Sensing an attack, Negi turned around and threw his dragon sword. The sword flew from his hand in a straight line. It shot through Yoshino's chest making a sickening crunch as it pierced the bone. Yoshino fell down to his knees, some blood fell from the corner of his mouth. He slumped to the ground, dead. Negi turned his gaze onto the only surviving demon.

Ryuji stared at his fallen comrades; he was too scared to move. No one could move that fast. It was just impossible. A tight pressure was put on his throat and he was lifted off his feet. Negi stared him dead in the face. Dark energy was gathering around his right hand. Ryuji struggled feebly against Negi's iron grip.

"I gave you the chance. Secret Technique: Single spirit of the dead gather unto me, and strike down my enemy," Negi threw Ryuji high into the air, "Sagitta Magica Unus Oblivium!"

The magical arrow erupted from Negi's hand. The shadowy energy took on a brief image of the grim reaper before turning back into an arrow. The blast struck Ryuji square in the chest. An inhuman cry of anguish escaped from his lips. The dark energy engulfed him; it ate away at him disintegrating flesh and bone. There was a small flash of purple light and the sky filled with smoke. When it cleared, there was nothing left of Ryuji.

The girls watched the events before them in horror. They had never seen Negi fight like that before and he seemed to enjoy it. The only one of them who seemed to enjoy the fight in any way was Evangeline. But that didn't stop her from shaking in mild fear. Negi with his back turned to the girls dropped on his knees. His hands shot up to his head, a strangled cry of pain escaped his lips. He started to shake; the marks on his arms started to recede and eventually disappeared. His body started to shrink until he was back to his ten year old form. Both of his swords faded out of existence with his form.

Negi forced himself to his feet. He stared in horror at his gloved hands. The black of blood could be seen against the fingerless gloves. He was in his combat clothes. Did he let it take over him again? He killed those demons; it had to be the only case. He turned around and found himself staring down the barrel of a .5o caliber Desert Eagle. Negi stumbled back, falling on his rear. Mana stood over him, her gun pointed at his head.

"What are you?" She asked dangerously.

"I-I can e-explain," Negi stammered. "It's still me."

"Don't lie to me demon!" Mana hissed.

Setsuna stepped forward, her sword raised. "What did you do to Negi-sensei?!" Her voice trembled with anger.

"Setsuna-san look at me," he pleaded. "It is me. Y-you know it is! Please!" He said more desperately.

Setsuna looked hard at Negi. Her eyes widened and her hands began to tremble. It couldn't be. But there was no mistaking it was him. She lowered her sword just a little bit.

"Well I don't believe you." Mana raised her gun and pulled back on the hammer.

"ANEGO! WAIT!" Kamo leapt off of Konoka's shoulder and jumped onto Negi's. "Don't shoot! It's him! I know it!"

"Are you sure Kamo-kun," Setsuna asked.

"Dead sure. You don't have to worry. I know this magic anywhere!"

Negi stood on his feet. He looked at all of the frightened girls. None of them were as frightened as Asuna and Konoka. He had to say something. "Asuna-san…Konoka-san…" he held out a hand to them and took a step forward. They weren't the only ones scared.

Asuna and Konoka were both petrified with fear. Konoka managed move behind Chachamaru. "D-Don't-don't get n-near me!" Asuna cried.

Negi's trembling hand lowered to his side. He was stupid to think that they would react any differently. Kamo gave him a sympathetic look that only made him feel worse. Tears began to fall from his eyes. He grabbed the red cloak from the ground and rushed through the girls. The girls stepped to the side, letting him pass. Negi ran towards the edge of the roof and leapt off.

"NEGI-BOZU!" Ku Fei shouted, finally coming back to her senses. _'What happened just now? He looked so scared.'

* * *

_

_Pitter Patter Pitter Patter Pitter Patter_

The sound of the rain falling on the roof echoed in the silence. Negi stood on the roof of the school trying to think of what just happened only a few hours ago. What had he done? He revealed a side of him that he never wanted them to see. A sided that he had hoped to keep hidden. The form that he took on gave him an incredible power. It let him defeat the demons before they could hurt anyone else. But at what cost? The people he fought to protect looked at him like he was some kind of monster. Not that he could blame them one bit. He was a monster after all. What did he expect them to say? That's okay come give us a hug? Yeah, that was realistic!

Negi stretched his arms out to the side. The rain tickled his body in a way it never had before. Each drop was new sensation on his bare arms. So there he stood. Letting the rain wash away all of his bitterness and pain.

"It's different now isn't it?"

Negi jumped and wheeled around. "Se-Setsuna-san?" He asked in shock.

Setsuna smiled back at him. She was wearing a dark blue hooded sweater. She had the hood pulled down over her face to block the rain. "I've been looking all over for you."

Negi scowled. "Is that so?" He turned back around and stared out at the campus. Students were rushing to get out of the rain.

Setsuna walked up beside him standing only a foot away. "It's the demon blood." She said after a moment of silence. Negi looked at her. "It's the reason the rain fells different. Demons have much more acute senses than demons do."

Negi grimaced at her. "I-I'm only half demon," he replied coolly.

"I figured as much." There was another odd silence. "Negi-sensei?"

"…Hm?"

"C-can I ask you why? Why would you choose this for yourself? Y-y-you did choose this right."

Negi stayed quiet for a long time and finally nodded. "I was too weak. It took killing a friend to show me that. I accepted this power, no this gift, in order to protect the people I care about."

"You must really love us all? To accept such a lonely path." Setsuna asked. Tears sprung up in their eyes, though it was hard to tell because of the rain.

Negi nodded. "I wanted to protect you all at any cost. But…this cost could be too high."

"What do you mean?"

"…I have these dreams." He turned and looked at her. "All the dreams, nightmares, are different. But each one has the same message. Moderatio EST Figmentus Obscuritas Consumo: Control is an illusion, darkness consumes."

"Negi-sensei…"

"…Every time I use that power, I get this feeling that I'm slipping. Like a piece of my humanity is being chipped away." Tears rolled down his cheeks, mingling with the rain. "I don't know if I…"

Setsuna dropped down on her knees and flung her arms around Negi. She rested her head on Negi's shoulder and hugged him tight. She knew what it felt like to have people turn their backs on you. To feel like you don't belong with humans or demons because of what you are. To feel like you are all alone in the world. She could feel Negi shaking in her arms. She felt angry with herself for the way she acted earlier. She was angry with Konoka and Asuna for the way they acted. But mostly she…felt a deep sense of love for the boy in her arms. Negi was like a brother to her and she would do anything to protect. Just like he would do anything to protect her.

Setsuna pulled back and watched him dry his eyes. "Negi-sensei. I'm still not sure about your dreams. But I know that you won't lose yourself in the darkness. Because you are too strong for that. And until the others come around, I'll be here for you."

Tears filled up in Negi's eyes again. "Se-Setsuna-san why?"

Setsuna smiled at him. "Hey I promised you I would always be there for you. I would never turn my back on my nii-san."

"Br-brother?" Negi asked in shock.

"That's right," Setsuna smiled. She ruffled his hair playfully.

Kamo popped his head out of Negi's pants pocket. Tears were flowing down the ermine's face. "Th-That was beautiful Setsuna-nee-san."

Setsuna laughed and patted Kamo on the head. "It was the truth. Besides what right do I have to judge? I've got angel wings that come out of my back!"

Kamo nodded. "True! I forgot that nee-san was a Hanyo also!"

"How could you forget?"

"Well it was a shock at first. But I've been around you for so long that I know the type of good person you are, so it doesn't matter!"

Setsuna smiled. "Arigatou Kamo-kun."

"Right. Anyways you guys can get married now!"

"WHAT!" They shouted, their faces turning red.

"Oh come on. Nee-san you have angel wings, and Aniki you have those neat tattoos. Imagine how cool your kids would look!"

Negi and Setsuna laughed loudly. Despite the uncomfortable situation that was just too funny.

"Kids? Did I miss something?"

"K-Ku Fei-san!" Negi stammered.

Setsuna smiled and ruffled his hair again. "Let's meet up later for some coffee."

Negi nodded blankly. Setsuna stood up and walked back to the access door. On her way she placed a hand on Ku Fei's shoulder and gave her a small smile. Negi listened to the sound of the door swinging closed and he was left on the roof alone with Kamo and Ku Fei.

Negi found that he had a harder time looking at Ku Fei than he did at Setsuna. He turned his back on her and walked up to the edge of the roof. Ku Fei followed him and stood next him. They stood like this in silence for about five minutes.

"You want to tell me why you're up here." Negi started to get annoyed with her silence.

Ku Fei returned the stony glare. She was nervous but she wouldn't let him see that. "You ready to tell me why your half-demon."

Negi couldn't help but smile just a little bit. She had him there. "Fair enough. But how did you know?"

"…Setsuna had a theory. Is she right?"

Negi didn't say anything but just nodded. Again there was another moment of tense silence. Negi hated the silence. There was too much of it lately. Ku Fei's hand tightened on the hem of her dark blue windbreaker.

"I know why Negi-bozu became half demon. Because of me."

Negi stared at her in shock. Why would she think that? "Ku Fei-san?"

"You wanted to get stronger. But I failed. I was a bad teacher. I couldn't give Negi-bozu power." She said all of this quickly. She looked like she was about to cry again.

Negi felt his heart clench at the sight of her. She shouldn't blame this on herself. "It wasn't your fault," he replied softly. She could barely here him over the rain. "If I'm weak it's my own fault. You're an excellent teacher."

Ku Fei didn't say anything and continued staring out at the sky. She was soaked by now and was shivering from the cold. Suddenly, a considerable weight was placed around her shoulders. She looked down and saw that she was covered in red. The she realized that it was Negi's cloak. It hadn't shrunk with the rest of him, so it looked huge on her.

"A-arigatou," she whispered. Then she looked down at her apprentice and saw he was still in just a vest. "What about you."

"…It doesn't bother me too much," he answered evenly.

"Oh," she sounded hesitant.

"Do you have another question?"

"N-No!"

"If asking questions will make you more comfortable, then please so."

Ku Fei took a deep breath. She hoped this wouldn't offend him. "What's your true look, er, form?" She asked quickly. She turned around and saw that he was once again in his teenager form. She looked a little surprised; she hadn't even felt the transformation this time.

"This is my true form. My true human form anyways." He closed his eyes and turned back into his ten year old form. "This is just glamour. Though I feel a bit more comfortable in this form when I'm near you. I hope you never have to see my true demon form." He said this with a sad face.

Ku Fei started to feel awkward again. Luckily Negi brought up a question of his own. "Aren't you afraid that I might hurt you?"

Now it was Ku Fei's turn to look shocked. It was obvious that he was scared of her answer. Ku Fei shook her head vehemently. Her wet hair slapped against her face. "Of course not!"

"Eh?!" Negi asked in astonishment. "Wh-why not."

"I feel bad about how I acted earlier. You may have demon blood. When you transform you look like Negi-sama. But inside your still Negi-bozu. You'd never hurt me." She said confidently.

Negi smiled and closed his eyes. It made him feel infinitely better that Ku Fei didn't hate him. His heart started to beat a little faster and his cheeks flushed. This wasn't the first time this happened around her. Again Kotarou's words popped back into his head. Though he couldn't admit it, she was cute. And she was precious to him. Before Ku Fei could stop him, he stepped over the edge of the roof.

"NEGI-BOZU!" Ku Fei rushed to the edge of the roof and looked down. Negi was standing in mid air. The only thing under him was his staff. He must have summoned it when he had his eyes closed. "That was mean Negi-bozu," she pouted. She crossed her arms over her chest like she was mad at him.

Negi laughed at her reaction. He held his hand out to her. "I wanna show you something. Do you trust me?" He asked. He gave her that perfected hear dissolving smile.

Ku Fei opened one eye and looked at his hand. She nervously placed her hand in his and nodded. Negi helped her onto the front of the staff. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hold on tight okay."

"Don't have to say twice."

Negi smiled and took off into the sky. Ku Fei didn't talk and only clung to him. Normally flying on something like this would have scared her witless. Then again she knew Negi wouldn't let anything happen to her. The only sound was the flapping of her cloak in the wind and the rain falling onto the trees. Once they were far enough over the forest Negi stopped.

"Are you ready?" She nodded. Her eyes still closed. "Okay hold on real tight." Ku Fei's grip tightened around his neck. She felt a slight shifting but nothing else. "Open your eyes."

Ku Fei did as she told. The staff was no longer under them but floating off to the side. She gasped and tightened her grip considerably. She looked up at Negi's smiling face and then down again. Purplish energy covered his feet, keeping them aloftin midair. She could see the the tops of the pine trees below them. She also vaguely noticed that the rain had slowed to a drizzle. She pressed herself against Negi's chest for fear of falling.

"I won't drop you."

Ku Fei turned her head up to look at Negi. He was still smiling down at her. Just as he turned his head Ku Fei took in the chance to watch him. He was smiling now. It was a soft, sad smile that her inside. His bangs clung to his forehead water dripping from the tips. Fine mists of rain were giving him a calm other worldly look. How come she never noticed how handsome he was? Her heartbeat sped up and a heat rose up in her cheeks. At that moment she just wanted to lean in and kiss him. She didn't care about the consequences. She wanted to take away all of his worries even if it was just for a second. She leaned in her eyes fluttering closed. She was only centimeters away now.

"Ku Fei-san?"

Ku Fei's eyes shot open, her cheeks burning a dark shade of vermilion. Had she been caught? She started to stammer out an apology but stopped. Negi had rested his chin on her shoulder and had his face buried in her wet hair an neck. There she floated in midair too stunned to speak.

"I don't want to go back to my room tonight," he whispered. His breath pleasantly tickled the back of her neck. "Can I stay with you and Setsuna-san tonight?"

Ku Fei had been knocked for a loop for what felt like the millionth time that day. She nodded slightly. "Yes," she said quietly."

"Arigatou Ku-chan."

That was only the second time he used chan to address her. It made her heart flutter again. At that moment she realized how far she would go for him. No matter what happened to him or to her. She just wanted to do anything to make him happy. Those feelings were a little frightening, but they opened a new possibility for her life. One that she had never thought of before. A possibility that could make her happier than she'd ever been. She would sit here with him and float forever if he needed it.

**END CHAPTER**

**Thats the end of this chapter folks. Do me a favor and hit the review button. Tell me what you all thought about this chapter. Till next time!**


	8. Chapter 8: My Unholy Alliance!

**I'm back everyone. To fill your mind with impossibilities of a frightening nature. Now that I'm done being weird; I would like to thank all of my loyal reviewers. Including my new viewer Black Dax. Once again I would like to thank Eternal-Longing; who once again is pushing me to the limit. Good Show! Anyways let's start this off with my disclaimer, read by William.**

**Will: Why the hell would I want to read the bloody disclaimer?! You killed me in one chapter!**

**Me: If it helps you've been my favorite OC so far!**

**Will: I damn well hope so! The other guys only lasted thirty seconds! Mako does not own Negima! Just my soul.**

**Me: On with the story!**

**Will: Pfft! Wanker.

* * *

**

**CHAPTER 8: My Unholy Alliance!**

"Setsuna, were back!"

"Were?" Setsuna asked. She came out of the bathroom in a robe, drying her hair with a blue fluffy towel. "Oh, hello Negi-sensei, Kamo-kun. What are you doing here?"

"Hello Setsuna-san. You see…the thing is…I…"

"I told Negi-kun that he could stay with us. That okay?" Ku Fei asked, rubbing the back of her head.

Setsuna seemed to realize just what was happening. She nodded and smiled at them. "That would be great. You guys are soaked; let me get you some towels." Setsuna walked back into the bathroom.

"Arigatou Setsuna-nee-san," Kamo called from his perch on Negi's shoulder. "I'm gonna run and check out the kitchen. I'm starved."

Ku Fei chuckled. "There's some sushi in the fridge."

Kamo smiled and saluted. "I'm on in it!" The little ermine leapt from his shoulder and ran towards the kitchen.

Negi smiled and took this chance to look around the room. It was much like the dorm he shared with Konoka and Asuna. The bathroom, kitchen, and even beds were all in the same place. The only difference was the colors and some of the decoration. The walls were colored cobalt blue and had a black outline. The ceiling was painted white. The carpet was also blue, but it was a shade or two lighter than the walls. Instead of posters of romantic movie couples (Konoka) or posters of old men (Asuna) there were weapons. On one of the mounted racks were three very sharp looking katanas. Negi guessed that these belonged to Setsuna. On another mount were some kamas. Negi guessed that these were Ku Fei's. Other weapons such as: nunchaku, butterfly swords, bokkens, chain whips, and sectional staffs to name a few, littered the room. Over in the corner was a wooden training dummy. It was a nice room and the weapons made him feel oddly at ease.

"This is a nice room. You have enough weapons for a small army," he laughed.

Ku Fei nodded. "Arigatou. Setsuna picked out the colors."

"Good thing to." Setsuna came out of the bathroom dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt. She handed a towel to Ku Fei and one to Negi. "If she had her way, the room would be all yellow."

Ku Fei pulled the cloak over her head and placed it to dry on the coat rack. "What's wrong with yellow?" She asked drying her hair.

Setsuna laughed. "Yellow is fine. In extremely low doses."

Ku Fei stuck her tongue out at Setsuna childishly. Negi laughed and dried his hair. "I'm gonna take a warm shower." The blonde walked over to a wooden dresser and began to rifle through it.

"Um, Setsuna-san?" Setsuna turned her attention back to Negi. He hated to ask her to do this but he couldn't think of any other solution. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor? You see, I don't really feel comfortable going back to my dorm." He paused trying to figure out how to ask this.

"And you want me to pick some stuff up for you?" Setsuna guessed.

Negi gave her a nod of embarrassment. "If you wouldn't mind."

Setsuna smiled. "I don't mind at all. Ku, can you call that Chinese takeout before you get in the shower?"

Ku Fei didn't even look up from the drawer she was digging in. She just lifted her hand in the air and gave Setsuna thumbs up. "So what do you need?"

"Up in the loft there's a black bag. Just grab that. Oh and here's a list of a couple books and potion ingredients." He took a small piece of white paper from his pants pocket and handed it to her. "I want to give Ku-chan an assignment."

"EH!?" Ku Fei turned around, a light yellow tank top in her hands. "You're giving me homework?-Aru." She asked in a distressed tone.

"Of course. How do you expect to get better?"

"Well I guess I can cut back on schoolwork," she replied craftily.

"Oh no you don't. Nice try though. If you need help just ask."

Setsuna shook her head at her roommate's laziness. She liked everything as long as there was no studying involved. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I want my usual Ku, and don't forget the Tong Sui."

"Fine," Ku Fei grumbled. She was still depressed about the extra homework.

Setsuna slipped on her slippers, she gave them a salute and hurried out of the room. Negi turned around and saw Ku Fei pull out her cell phone. "You have anything special in mind. What does Kamo-kun like?"

"He usually just eats off of my plate. What would you recommend?"

Ku Fei hit the speed-dial on her phone. "Nihao. Yes I'd like to place order. Mhm. Two orders of pork Baozi, an order of Kung Pao chicken, and four orders of Tong Sui. Mahora Academy dorms room 303. Xie xie."

"What is Tong Sui?" Negi asked curiously.

"It's a sweet dessert. You'll like it. I'm gonna take a shower and change. Make yourself at home Negi-kun."

Negi watched Ku Fei go into the bathroom and let out a sigh. He knew that he was imposing on them, but he just didn't feel comfortable seeing Asuna and Konoka right now. The way they reacted really hurt him. He took out his phone and made a call to one of the teachers. Until he was ready to tell everyone, he didn't even want to be in class. After he made a call and got the teacher to agree (Seruhiko laughed at him) he started to walk around the room. After ten minutes on the training dummy he moved onto the weapons. He picked up a pair of butterfly swords and stared at them. He used to know somebody back at the academy that used butterfly swords. In fact he still had that picture that they took together. Negi was about to reach in his wallet when the bathroom door opened.

Ku Fei came out of the bathroom dressed in a pair of white pants and the yellow tank top. She had her hair down and was drying it with a yellow towel. Her face was still a little pink from the warm water. Negi couldn't help but stare at her. He had been doing that a lot lately. He blushed and looked away.

"Are you okay?"

Negi nodded quickly. "O-of course. Wh-why do you ask?"

"Because you're staring at butterfly swords. You want to learn how to use them. I can teach you."

"Maybe later." He set the knives on the wall.

Kamo came swaggering in from the kitchen looking a little depressed. "There wasn't much sushi left. I'm still starving."

Negi shook his head and Ku Fei gave a chuckle of amusement. The ermine was like a bottomless pit sometimes. "Don't worry Kamo-kun," Negi replied. "We just ordered some Chinese." There was a knock at the door and Ku Fei jumped to her feet. "It's here that fast."

"It's not so far away." Ku Fei started to dig through a purse on the dresser.

"Let me get it," Negi said reaching in his pocket.

"No no. Your guest here. It wouldn't be right."

Negi reached into his wallet and took out some money. "Please, it's the least I can do."

* * *

"Okay. Now all I need to do is find those potion ingredients," Setsuna whispered to herself.

The young Shinmeiryuu began to dig through the shelves of various magical ingredients. She used the key Konoka had given her to get into the apartment. She was grateful that the other two girls weren't in the room. Though she understood completely, she was still mad at them for the way they acted earlier that day. Setsuna found the last magical ingredient and threw it into the bag. She strapped the bag around her shoulder and jumped down from the loft. For a brief second, she thought about leaving a note for Konoka. The thought disappeared as quickly as it came. This was something they would have to figure out for themselves. She walked to the door and swung it open, coming face to face with Nodoka.

"Oh, Sakurazaki-san!" The librarian said in surprise.

"Miyazaki-san, what are you doing here?" She stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her.

"I-I wanted to see Negi-sensei," she replied. A light blush stained her cheeks.

Setsuna turned around and locked the door. "Negi-sensei isn't here right now. He's staying with me and Ku Fei for the time being."

"N-N-N-Negi-sensei, he-he's st-staying with y-you!" Nodoka's stammering hadn't been that bad since she realized her feelings for Negi.

Setsuna looked confused for a second. As realization dawned on her, her entire face turned a bright red. "N-no! It's not what you think it is!" She said quickly. "Negi-sensei is just having some problems right now."

"Is he alright?!"

"He'll be fine. He just needed some time away. So Ku Fei offered to let him stay with us."

"Did-did he and Asuna-san have another fight?"

Setsuna rubbed the back of her head. _'Negi-sensei won't appreciate me telling her. I better just go with it.' _"Something like that I'm sure he would like to see you, but I think he should get some rest first."

Nodoka nodded in understanding. "Y-yes! Give Negi-sensei my regards."

"Of course. I better get going. See you later." Setsuna knew that the brush-off was rather rude. However, she needed to get out of there before Setsuna or Konoka showed up.

She waved farewell to Nodoka and hurried on her way. Once she was around the corner she ran back to her room. If anyone caught her with Negi's stuff she would have a lot of questions to answer to. After what seemed like forever she made it back to their dorm. The door was unlocked. Leave it to Ku Fei to leave the door unlocked. She walked in and saw Negi and Ku Fei setting the small table in the middle of the room. The TV was turned on and a random commercial was playing.

"The food got here already?" She asked closing the door.

Ku Fei nodded. "You were gone a long time."

"Oh yeah. I ran into Miyazaki-san."

"Nodoka-san? What was she up to?" Negi asked. He walked over and relieved Setsuna of the bag.

"She was actually on her way to see you Negi-sensei."

Negi fumbled with the box of steamed rice. "What did you tell her?!"

"Nothing. I said you were staying with us for a little while. She thinks that you and Asuna-san had another fight." She kicked off her slippers and sat down at the table.

"So you didn't say anything about…you know?"

Setsuna shook her head. "I figured it wasn't my place."

Negi knew that was her way of saying he would have to tell everyone sooner or later. "A-anyways arigatou."

"Your welcome. I'm not sure why you need your laptop though."

Negi put his bag down and pulled out some clothes. "That's not for me."

Kamo popped out from the brown takeout bag with a soy sauce packet in his paws. "The computer is for me nee-san. Without it I get bored."

"Kami knows what you do when you're bored," Ku Fei muttered.

Negi smiled. "You don't want to know. "I'm gonna take a quick shower. Feel free to start without me." He said, heading for the bathroom.

"Should we wait for Negi-kun?"

Setsuna eyed Ku Fei suspiciously. "Sure. Whatever happened to Negi-bozu?"

Ku Fei looked up at Setsuna. "What do you mean?-Aruyo?"

"The two of you have been acting strange since you came back. You're calling him Negi-kun all of a sudden. Now he's calling you Ku-chan? Did something happen between the two of you?" She glared at Ku Fei.

'_Uh-oh! She's gone into big sister mode. What do I do?' _Ku Fei played with her chopsticks for a second. "Nothing happened. We were just talking. A-and he called me Ku-chan. So I thought calling him Negi-kun might help him feel better. Maybe you call him something different." This was a pathetic cover up. She never was any good at lying.

Kamo leered at the young martial artist. "Why don't you tell her what really happened Master Ku? You know, when you and Aniki were flying."

Ku Fei laughed nervously and patted Kamo on the head. "Aha ha ha! You're funny Kamo-kun." She suddenly felt like a mouse being trapped by a cat.

"Ku Fei," Setsuna said in a warning tone.

Ku Fei grimaced stared down at the table. "He just wanted to go flying."

"You hate flying."

"She really liked this flight," Kamo replied lewdly.

Before Setsuna could ask another question, Negi stepped out from the bathroom. Normally she hated to pry into others lives, but this had her intrigued. She wanted to know more about what happened between the two of them. Dinner had gone by fairly well. Negi had actually smiled and even laughed once or twice. The only thing that made it uncomfortable, at least for Ku Fei, was the constant stares from Setsuna. Ku Fei tried to avoid these moments as much as possible. She swore to herself that she would get Kamo back for this.

After dinner the three friends just watched some TV. Though, this was made complicated because everyone wanted to watch something else. When they finally decided to go to sleep it was almost 8 o'clock. Setsuna helped Negi fix up the sofa. They had gotten one that turned into a futon. It was dark blue in color and the sheets for it were an off white. Ku Fei was busy brushing her teeth and trying to think of ways to crush Kamo.

"Are you going to be comfortable here Negi-sensei?" Setsuna asked. She handed him a pillow and gave him a smile.

Negi smiled and scratched the back of his head. "I think I'll be just fine here. Arigatou Setsuna-san."

"Goodnight Setsuna. Goodnight Negi-kun." Ku Fei was already in bed and under her covers.

"Goodnight Ku."

"Goodnight Ku-chan."

Setsuna stared at the back of Negi's head. Ku Fei's words played over in her head. _'Maybe you should call him something different.' _Setsuna swallowed and walked towards her bed. "Goodnight, Negi-nii-san."

Negi stopped spreading his sheet and smiled. He turned around and smiled at Setsuna's back. "Goodnight Setsuna-nee-chan."

Negi lay wide awake in bed for hours afterwards. He didn't have to worry about getting up to teach class tomorrow so sleep wasn't too important. He did want to leave early and try to talk to Kotarou. The Inugami was his best friend and he wanted to do something before that changed.

* * *

Setsuna yawned as she dragged herself through the halls; it was way too early for her to be awake. Then again, patrol was too important to skip. Setsuna smiled despite herself. It had been two day's since the whole demon incident. Negi had been staying with them for those two days. At first she was worried about Negi. For the last couple of days they had a substitute teacher because Negi didn't feel comfortable enough to see the others yet. He rarely smiled and when he did it was a fake one. It seemed like the only person who really had a chance of cheering him up was Ku Fei. Even she was a long shot.

Now things were starting to get better for the young teacher. Just yesterday he had talked to Kotarou and just like that the two were friends again. It turned out that the wolf demon wasn't mad at all. He was merely surprised by Negi's transformation. When he came home yesterday his mood was considerably better. Of course he now had the extra worry of a rematch with Kotarou. Then again, challenging people was probably the way that Kotarou showed he cared about them. Like she had told him, the others would come around.

"Secchan! Secchan!?"

Setsuna turned around in surprise. Asuna and Konoka were running toward her, they looked frantic. "Secchan, we can't find Negi-kun."

Asuna nodded. "At first we thought that he was just avoiding us. Then we noticed that some of his stuff is missing. We think he may have left!" Setsuna's face hardened and Asuna picked up on it. "You know something Setsuna-san! Where is he?!"

Setsuna sighed. "You're right about one thing. He has been avoiding you."

"But why?" Konoka asked sadly.

Setsuna groaned. She cared about Konoka more than anyone else in the world, but she could be dim sometimes. "I was the one that got his things. He and Kamo-kun have been staying with me and Ku Fei for the past couple of days." Asuna and Konoka never thought to look there. "He said he wouldn't be comfortable after what happened. And after the way you two have been acting who could blame him."

"What?!" Asuna nearly shouted.

"He's been gone for two days and you only start to look for him now?! Good way to show you care," she said sarcastically. "Do you know how much you hurt him?!"

"He could have tried talking to us!"

"He wanted to but he was too scared. I can't blame you for the way you acted because it was a shock. But that doesn't change the fact that it was reprehensible. Again, though I can't blame you. When you two told him to stay away, you were just saying how you felt. Maybe that's what you two think of all demons," she added bitterly.

"Secchan! Of course not! We just…"

Setsuna held up a hand, silencing Konoka. "I'm not the one you need to apologize to. If you wish to speak to Negi-nii-san he should be in the gym training with Ku Fei. I have to go on patrol."

Setsuna pushed past Konoka ignoring her attempts at talking. Konoka stared after Setsuna's retreating back. She had never thought of it like that before. She and Asuna had been so wrapped up in their own feelings they hadn't even thought of Negi's. Since when had they become those types of people? Konoka turned around and saw Asuna leaning against the wall. The older girl was staring at the ground and had tears in her eyes.

"Asuna?" Konoka asked. She walked over and put a hand on the redhead's shoulder.

Asuna looked up at Konoka and sniffled. The tears started to fall from her eyes. "Setsun-Setsuna-san is (sniff) right. I (sniff) always tell him to (hic) come to me. The-then I g-go and act like th-that. I'm terrible."

"Asuna…"

"Geez, what is it with you?" The two girls looked to the side. Chisame was standing in front of them. Judging by the bathrobe and towel, she was just coming back from the baths. "Every time I see you it's a new problem."

Thinking that it was an attack Konoka came to Asuna's defense. "Chisame-chan, Asuna is really upset. It's about Negi."

"Is it about that whole transforming into a freak thing?" Asuna nodded sadly. "…I'll play grown up for you just once. Talk to him. Get him to explain everything and then apologize. That's your advice for today kiddies." Chisame waved them off and walked away. When she was only a couple feet away, a beeping noise came from the pocket in her robe. She pulled her phone out and flipped it open.

A second later; similar beeping noises sounded from Asuna's and Konoka's jackets. They pulled out their phones as well. Each one had the same message: _If you want to know what happened come to the art club room after classes._ They stared at their phones in surprise.

"I just got a message from Kota-kun," Konoka replied. She showed the phone to Asuna.

Asuna wiped at her eyes and nodded. "I got the same message. But mine is from Ku Fei."

Chisame looked over their shoulders at the messages. "I got the same message to. But mine is from the brat. How did he get my number anyways?"

"I may have given it to him," Asuna replied sheepishly.

"How did you get my number?!"

"Asakura."

"What the hell?!"

"Asuna what do we do?" Konoka asked.

Asuna thought about it and looked at Chisame. That made her mind up for her. "We're going to go as soon as class is over."

* * *

"Did you guys get the message through?"

Kotarou put his phone back into his pocket and gave Negi a thumbs up. "I never thought this thing would come in handy. Considering Ayaka-nee-chan gave it to me I thought it might explode." He leaned back and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Ku Fei smiled and gave him a nod. "Message sent! Now we just have to wait!"

Negi smiled and checked the time on his phone. "You guys better get going to class. You'll be late."

Kotarou shook his head. "I think I'll ditch today and hang out with you."

"Fine. You go to class."

"How come he gets to skip?!" Ku Fei whined.

"Because I'm not his teacher. Now go."

Ku Fei gave him a mock glare. "Fine. Bite me," she said jokingly.

"I bet you would like that Master Ku," Kamo whispered so that only she heard.

Ku Fei blushed. She gave the boys a quick wave and then hurried out of the gym. Kotarou watched her leave and then watched Negi pack his bag. Something must have happened between the two of them. He was going to have fun with this.

* * *

Negi, Kamo and Kotarou walked down the dim halls of the school. The source of light was the setting sun, shining through the windows. He was lucky enough to run into Takamichi earlier and find out that the art club wasn't meeting today. It would give them all a place to meet and talk about everything. Most importantly there would be no one to interrupt them. At last he reached the room that the art club used. Negi stood and stared at the door for a minute.

"You okay Aniki?" Kamo asked.

"Come on man, suck it up!" Kotarou said, slapping him on the back. "I want to know how all of this happened!"

Negi nodded nervously. "Right. Come on. It's now or never."

He swung the door open and walked into the room. At least he would have sometime to prepare before the girls got there. Wrong again. The girls were already in the room. Setsuna and Ku Fei were standing at the front of the room. Kaede and Mana were talking at the back of the room. Asuna, Konoka and Chisame were talking with Asakura and Sayo. The Library Trio was standing near the window. Last but not least, Evangeline and Chachamaru were standing quietly in a corner of the room. When ha and Kotarou entered all of the talking stopped. Each of the girls took seats and waited for Negi to start.

"We don't have all day bouya," Evangeline grumbled.

"Yeah, why did you call us here Negi-kun?" Asakura asked.

"You haven't been in class. Is everything alright?" Haruna asked.

Negi shook his head. "I-I'll answer all of your questions just not now." Negi sat on a stool at the front of the room and leaned against the wall. Kotarou stood next him, sort of like a bodyguard. "How should I say this?"

"Start from the beginning," Kamo suggested.

He nodded. Ku Fei and Setsuna smiled at him and nodded in encouragement. "Right. Don't interrupt until I'm finished, please. As you all know, when I went away I went for some special training. The place I was in was an alternate dimension. Time there passed much like it does in Evangeline-san's resort. Every day that passes in this world, is equivalent to one year where I was."

A faint glow of energy surrounded Negi's body. His figure started to slowly change until he was back in his teenager form. Instead of the leather pants and vest he was wearing his casual clothes; a pair of light blue jeans and a black long sleeved tee. Most of the girls, having seen this the other day, tried their best to keep a neutral face. The other stared in awe at their sensei. Asakura even muttered something, and blushed slightly. Negi could tell that they all wanted to ask questions. He was thankful that they didn't ask.

"Where I was," Negi continued, "five years passed for me. And I am now 14. The training I went through was tough and harsh. When I became twelve, my masters gave me a special task. I was to go out and slay a Chimera."

Negi created a small bubble in the air. The bubble grew larger and began to shake. There was a sort of ripple effect in the bubble and an image appeared. The image was of a twelve year old Negi. He was clad in a white cloak that covered the lower part of his face. He still wore his glasses and there was still some baby fat on his cheeks. He looked like he was hiding from something. His breathing was ragged and he had some bruises on his face. From the looks of things he was in a dark cavern.

"_**There's no way I can defeat this Chimera," **the twelve year old Negi said._ **_"My magic isn't strong enough yet."_**

"_**Tsk. Tsk. That's no way to think." **Said a smooth, alluring voice._

_Another figure appeared in the bubble this time. This figure was much taller than Negi. He was thin and lanky, but had an athletic muscular build. He was dressed in black leather pants, a loose black vest and black boots. Tattoos lined both arms; flames on the right and lines on the left. He had long white hair that fell down to about mid-back. Throughout his hair were streaks of black. He lifted his head revealing an angular face that was pretty for a man. His eyes were a deep forest green that glowed eerily in the dark._

"**_Who are you?!" _**Negi _pointed his staff and a broad short sword at the figure._

"**_I am known by many names,"_** _the figure answered mysteriously. **"But you can call me Kakos." **He said bowing slightly at the waist._ **_"I'm a demon of the ancient times. And I have come to help you young mage."_**

_Negi lowered his sword and staff._ **_"I don't need your help."_**

"_**Don't you?" **_

_Negi smirked at the demon._ **_"How can you help me? You're nothing more than a spirit."_**

_**Kakos** smiled at him._ **_"I can loan you my power. Do you accept?"_**

"_**Why would you want to help me?"**_

"_**Without my power you can't win this battle. I want to see you succeed. So you can reach your goal."**_

_The young Negi looked like he was contemplating this for a minute. It was true; at his level he could not defeat a Chimera. He looked at the demon and pointed his sword at him._ **_"N-no tricks you here me."_**

_**Kakos** laughed. When he raised his head his eyes had changed purple and red. The tattoo marks had spread onto his face._ **_"Let's do this boy."_**

The bubble began to quiver again and disappeared altogether. "Wait! What happened to the Chimi-era thing?!" Asuna asked.

Negi smirked. "I don't remember. But since I'm still here I must have killed it."

"That name," Evangeline whispered. "That name sound so familiar."

"What-what does it mean?" Sayo asked. She was floating behind Asakura, looking as frightened as ever.

"Kakos is the Greek word for evil."

"Who was this demon?" Kaede asked.

"I could explain, but I think Yue-san would do a much better job."

Everyone turned to look at Yue. She stared back at Negi with a questioning stare. After thinking about it, realization dawned on her. She pulled out her Pactio card. "Adeat!" A shining light revealed Yue's all knowing encyclopedia. The others, including Negi gathered around it. "Malus."

The encyclopedia opened up and glowed white for a minute. Some text appeared on the blank pages, as well as a holographic picture of Kakos.

'_There was once a powerful entity that served the Greek gods of Mt. Olympus. His name has been forgotten; the only thing that's known is that he was one of the Archangels. A higher being in favor of the gods. He was one of their greatest warriors, a hero of the 'Megalos Polemo' or Great War. A war that predated Greek civilization. He slew all of his demonic enemies with a fiery sword that was presented to him by the Greek god Apollo. He loved his position and served the gods loyally._

_Around 13th century B.C. he betrayed the Olympiad. There is no recorded reason for his betrayal. For his mutiny, Zeus and Poseidon ordered that his wings be torn off and he should be expelled from Mt. Olympus. All the gods agreed. All except for Ares, the Greek God of War spoke out in his defense. Unfortunately, his punishment was carried through. He was forced to live amongst the mortals. The angel became bitter, but with only a fraction of his power left he could not exact his revenge. He traveled for nearly three years, attempting to unlock his angelic powers. His chance for revenge came when he was approached by Hades, God of the Dead._

_Hades was the brother of Zeus and Poseidon and had a long standing grudge against them. Hades planned to use the fallen angel to strike at the Olympiad. So the two of them made a pact. In return for loyal service, Hades would restore the angel's powers and wings. Of course the only way to do this was to turn him into a demon. Hades gave the angel some of his own blood and sent him out on a task. He was to slay three priests and a child that supposedly belonged to the gods. The angel completed his task with pleasure. The brutal slaying earned him the name Kakos. With the slaying of the holy souls Hades' blood turned him into a demon._

_The next task was simple for Kakos. 1500 Achean soldiers were on a mission to uncover new land. Kakos murdered them all, posing as a Trojan warrior. He left one man alive to tell the tale. Achean kings were outraged and wanted war on the city of Troy. This marked the real reason for the battle of Troy. After the battle Hades would harvest the souls from both sides and bring them into the underworld. He would then raise their souls and use them to fight against the Olympiad. They received three very strong souls in Ajax, Achilles, and Hector. These were his generals and Kakos would be the champion that led them. After the battle, Hades planned to cross Kakos and take his soul._

_Kakos found out about the betrayal and was angered. Kakos decided to help Hades and lure him into a false security. He would help Hades kill Zeus and Poseidon. Once he was on the throne Kakos would kill him and take the throne for himself. Once again Kakos needed more power to complete his plan. This power came in the form of Archikos, a demon known for being the original evil. Archikos was a demi-god who had a grudge against the Olympiad. He wanted revenge for Zeus defeating him in the Great War. He agreed to help Kakos defeat Zeus and Hades. But first Kakos was to complete a task that would prove his worth. Three days before the battle for Mt. Olympus he was to meet the gods champion, Heracles son of Zeus, in a battle. If he could defeat Heracles, then he would finally be returned to his former glory._

_The battle began four days before the battle of Mt. Olympus was to begin. It lasted for two long days. On the third day Kakos unlocked his angelic powers. These powers mixed with his demonic blood, creating an all new level of demon. During the battle he used tremendous speed and snapped Heracles' neck. After the battle, the soul of Heracles inexplicably entered Kakos' body. This completed his transformation into a demi-god. On the third day he rested._

_Archikos became shaken by the transformation of Kakos into a demi-god. He feared that Kakos would become powerful enough to defeat him. He went behind his back and made a pact with the Olympus gods. In return for admittance into the Olympiad he would help them defeat Kakos. _

_On the day of the battle Kakos lead Hades army of the undead to battle the forces of Mt. Olympus. During the battle he slew several Archangels and even the archer god Apollo. The slaying of the god was the first recorded use of what is now called Sagitta Magica. Kakos and Hades met Zeus and Ares in a cataclysmic battle. At first Kakos refused to fight Ares. He remembered the god's kindness. Ares wanted the battle to be fair and requested that Kakos fight for all he was worth. _

_Archikos finally made his move. While Kakos was in the middle of his battle with Aries, Archikos attacked him. He used a powerful spell to make sure that Kakos couldn't move. Then with the help of Zeus and Poseidon he extracted the part of Kakos' soul that granted him immortality. Hades, who had been in league with his brothers the entire time, tore Kakos' soul from his body. Together the four of them sealed his demonic soul into a time and space dimension. His soul would wander in this world until a being with enough power to become his container would set him free.' _

Everyone looked up from the book. They were speechless. "I don't get it. Why was he kicked out of Mt. Olympus?" Mana asked after awhile.

"Is there anything else to the text?" Haruna asked.

Yue read and shook her head. "Just a side note. It says that Archikos had his immortality removed by Zeus. And that he was later defeated by the…the Crimson Wing." She said, looking up at Negi.

Negi shook his head. "I don't know what happened to Archikos or why Kakos was kicked off of Olympus. He never told me the reason."

"H-he talks to you?" Konoka asked horrified.

"Of course he does. Mostly when he talks he does it just to annoy me." Negi waved his hand and sat down on his stool again. "Near the end of my training I was ordered to fight a magical creature called a behemoth."

"B-but that's insane!" Kamo cried. "They can be even worse than dragons!"

Negi nodded. "I knew I couldn't win. So I sought out Kakos again. Since he helped me the first time, I figured I could get his help again." Negi flicked a wild strand of hair behind his hair. "Only this time his spirit bonded to my body. He became a part of me and vice-versa. Together we defeated behemoth, using a mixture of our powers. When you saw me fight those demons the other day that was mostly him."

The Library Trio, Asakura and Sayo all looked confused about what he was talking about. Negi could tell that Asuna wanted to ask a question. "Yes Asuna-san?"

Asuna jumped and looked up at Negi nervously. He gave her a smile that calmed her down. So it really was him after all. "D-does that mean that you were talking to him in the bathhouse?"

Negi nodded. "Yeah," he laughed. "He felt like having an argument. If you want to ask questions now you can."

Chachamaru politely raised her hand. "You said that you weren't strong enough to defeat the behemoth by yourself?" Negi nodded. "Then why would your masters send you to such a task?"

"Good question Chachamaru. I think Stan-Ojii-san and Albireo wanted me to accept the demons help."

"Albireo?! Wasn't he the guy that handed me my ass during the tournament?!" Kotarou asked.

"I should have known that baka had something to do with this!" Evangeline growled. That vein on her forehead was starting to pulse.

Haruna stroked her chin thoughtfully. "You accepted his soul into your body, right? So does that mean that the soul is sort of a parasite?"

Negi shook his head. "It's more of mutuality than a parasitic relationship. I get to use his powers and he gets to come out and…play. As he puts it."

"Ne-Negi-sensei?"

"Yes Nodoka-san?"

"Wh-what do you…look like. Really?"

"You're looking at it," he said. He raised his arms and did a slow spin. "I was gone for five years so I'm fourteen now! This is my real human form. My ten year old form is just a cheap glamour."

"So what we saw yesterday, were those signs of the demons influence?" Kaede asked.

Negi nodded. "When my eyes change that means I'm using his power. When you see the tattoos that means he's coming out."

"What do your eyes do?" Mana asked. "They're very much like mine."

"When you do an instant movement or move at the speed I was moving at, everything becomes a blur. The red eye helps slow things down. That way I can see things as if I were standing still. It also sort of acts like telescope. The purple eye is used to identify preternatural beings and their power levels."

"Are you always that powerful? Or is it only when you use Kakos' powers?" Kotarou asked.

"Only when I use his powers. Without invoking his full powers I'm no stronger than Albireo."

Everyone started. _'Only as powerful?' _Kamo thought. _'That's pretty damn strong from what I remember. What kind of training did he go through?' _Negi looked around the room and saw that Chisame had her hand raised.

"Can you control the demon?" She asked. Her eyes stared directly into his.

"…Yes. The only time he gains complete control is in his true form. Anything else?" There was a round of no's from the girls. Negi checked his watch. "If you all will excuse me, I have a teachers meeting." Negi murmured something under his breath. A white light surrounded him and he turned back into a ten year old. "See ya in class tomorrow." Kamo ran over and climbed up his shoulder.

Setsuna, Ku Fei and Kotarou followed him out of the room. They were a lot more comfortable with this than the others. After a minute or so Asuna and Konoka ran from the room and chased after Negi.

"Negi-kun!" Negi and the others turned around to look at them. "Negi-kun, I'm so sorry." Konoka had tears in her eyes. "I-I shouldn't have acted the way I did. You wouldn't hurt us. I should know that by now not all people with demon blood are bad." She smiled tearfully at Setsuna and Kotarou.

Asuna walked forward and took his hands in hers. Tear were building in her eyes as well. "Negi…I am so sorry. I always tell you to come to me when you're in trouble. Then when this happened I got scared and I treated you like a monster. But your not one. I-I know we don't deserve it but…"

"I already forgave you. Both of you." Negi smiled back at them. Now he was crying to! "You were just scared, it's in big deal!"

Both girls swooped down on him and hugged him tightly. Their three friends watched the touching scene with small smiles. "Move back in?" Asuna asked.

"…Of course," Negi answered softly.

"Kami, you people make me sick." Chisame walked past them, carrying her laptop. She looked back at Asuna and mouthed the words, "Told ya."

Asuna smiled. It would take awhile for her to get used to a half-demon roommate. But now that she had Negi back things were going to be okay. She would make sure that things turned out right for everyone.

* * *

**END CHAPTER**

**WOW! That chapter took me awhile to complete. I just wanted to get things right! Here are some translation notes!**

**Baozi: A steamed Chinese bun that is often filled with pork or some kind of meat.**

**Tong Sui: A sweet, warm, custard that is often served as a dessert after meals. Also Chinese.**

**Xie xie: Chinese for 'thank you'.**

**Kakos: Greek word meaning evil.**

**Archikos: Greek word for original.**

**That's the end for this chapter. Don't forget to tell me what you thought about it. Till next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9: A Sisters Symphony

**I would like to thank my regular reviewers: Eternal-Longing, Egghead, and Tiki-God for sticking with me so far. I would also like to thank my newest reviewer Kei-Kun for giving this humble writer a shot. Now it's time for the disclaimer.**

**Me: Chizuru-nee-chan, will you read us the disclaimer?**

**Chizuru: Certainly! Mako does not own Negima!**

**Me: Thank (cough) you.**

**Chizuru: Oh dear! Are you sick? I can help. (Picks up a leek.)**

**Me: Th-that's okay. I'm fine!**

**Chizuru: C'mere!

* * *

**

**CHAPTER 9: A Sisters Symphony**

Ku Fei yawned for what must have been the hundredth time that morning. Last night she had worn herself out working on the magical homework that Negi had given her. The homework had been much easier when he had stayed with them, even though it was only three days. He moved back in with Asuna and Konoka the day after they apologized. She missed him staying with them. And it wasn't just because he made the homework a little easier either. She missed talking to him, and playing around with some of the magical stuff. She was only aloud to do that around him. Mostly she missed not being able to see him in the mornings. He just made everything a little easier.

Things had been like that for the last few weeks. Ever since their flight, she wanted to be around him even more than before. Whenever she was about to step into the classroom she would check herself to make sure that she looked alright. She had never done that before. Whenever he touched her (Combat training you sickos) she would blush uncontrollably. She even found herself trying to do better in school just to impress him. At first she thought the need to impress him was just because he agreed to be her magic teacher. And that the need to be near him was because of what happened when they went flying. She thought that they would go away. But they were still there. Those needs had been there since he became her apprentice. She was just starting to realize it now.

Ku Fei shook her head. _'That was almost two weeks ago. What's wrong with you?' _

Ku Fei mentally kicked herself. She shouldn't be thinking that way about him in the first place. He was a teacher and she was a student. Then he was a disciple and she was her master. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

Last night she had done the magic strengthening exercise again. She was required to do it at least three times a week. Last night she had reached a time of fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds, Setsuna had been kind enough to time her. That was her highest time yet. Unfortunately, the exercise had tired her out. By the time she got to the magic homework and her English homework she was already half asleep. She hoped that the answers she scribbled down would be good enough. She heard the door open behind her and turned around. Setsuna had just come out of the bathroom and was already completely dressed in her uniform. As usual her uniform was perfect. Ku Fei smiled and bounced over to Setsuna, some of her energy coming back to her.

Setsuna saw the grin on Ku Fei's face and felt a chill run down her spine. Lately the small martial artist had taken to using her as a test dummy for her magic. Most of the time it didn't really bother her, but last night Ku Fei had mentioned something about needing a target for archery practice. That was something Setsuna was not willing to help with her with.

"Setsuna I need a favor," she said with a smile.

Setsuna sighed and shook her head. "For the last time Ku, I will not be a practice target for your Sagitta Magica," she stated irritably.

"No, no," Ku Fei shook her head. "I read the book that Negi-kun gave me. I've been practicing barriers."

'_There's that Negi-kun again!'_ Setsuna thought tiredly. _'I've been questioning Ku for two weeks straight and nothing. Maybe if I'm careful I can figure it out before class starts.' _She looked to Ku Fei and nodded. "Okay. What is it you want me to do? We have a half-hour before we have to leave.

"Yeah! I want you to hit me!" THWACK! "Ow!" Ku Fei rubbed the back of her head and glared at Setsuna. "I meant I have a shield!"

"But if you know when the attack is coming, how can you learn?" Setsuna asked.

"I need to know if the shield works first."

"Alright. Sorry, when you're ready."

Ku Fei pulled her wand from her top pocket and nodded. "Deflexio!' She held out her hand. Setsuna's hand shot out and smacked her in the back of the head again. "Ow! Looks like I still need more practice." She rubbed the back of her head again.

"That's okay. You can't expect to get everything right away. Besides, you've been practicing really hard. I'm sure Negi-nii-san would be very proud of you."

"Wh-what is that supposed to mean?" Ku Fei asked. After all the questions she had been asked lately she was cautious whenever Setsuna brought up Negi.

"Nothing. I just think that he would be proud that his student is doing so well. That's all. Are you blushing Ku?"

Ku Fei turned away from Setsuna and shook her head. "Sh-shouldn't you be on patrol?" She asked frantically.

Setsuna shrugged. "Nope Kaede covered for me so I could have the day off." She clapped her hands and sat down on the couch. "Now I wonder why you could be blushing."

"I told you I'm not!"

"Is it just because it's warm in here and it's affecting you? No because it's pretty cool in here. Maybe it's because I gave you a compliment? Nah. That would embarrass you, but not too much."

"Setsuna…"

"Maybe it's just because the rush of magical energy is getting to you. Or maybe, something happened between you and Negi on the flight." Ku Fei tensed and her hand started to shake. "But the only thing I could think of is that you…"

"STOP IT!" Ku Fei turned around and glared harshly at Setsuna. Tears of frustration and anger were swimming in her big green eyes. Setsuna stared back at Ku Fei in mild surprise. She had never seen the girl cry over something like this. "It's none of your business! J-just leave me alone!"

Ku Fei grabbed her bag and ran out of the door. "Ku wait!" Setsuna grabbed her bag and her shoes and took off after Ku Fei. _'Damn me and my big mouth! I should have left well enough alone!'_

_

* * *

_

"Oi! Konoka, hurry up or we're gonna be late." Asuna grabbed her bag. "Negi, Kamo, are you going to join us?"

Negi poked his head up from his dresser and nodded. "Yeah." Kamo jumped up on his shoulder and they leapt down from the top of the loft. He picked up his bag and shoved a book inside. "We need to hurry or were going to be late again."

Asuna nodded. She watched Negi shoulder his bag. "Why do you still use that little kid form of yours? Why not use the teenager one?"

Negi looked up at her and smiled. "Because most of the class will wonder how I got so tall in a matter of a few weeks."

"That's not what I meant." Asuna glared at him. "I mean why you stay like this even when it's just the three of us."

"I've been wondering that myself." Konoka sat down and began to get her roller skates ready.

"Well…I figured my new form might make you guys feel a little uncomfortable."

"Negi, seeing you rip apart three demons in a matter of seconds made me feel uncomfortable. You growing a few feet so I don't feel like a pervert would make me happy."

"What are you talking about?"

"Two grown girls living with a little kid. Someone's bound to start spreading rumors."

Konoka giggled. "Don't be so stupid Asuna. And don't worry Negi-kun. Having a cute little brother is a lot of fun. But a hot roommate can be even more fun." Konoka winked at him.

Negi blushed and Asuna just glared at her. "Konoka, what is wrong with you?!"

"Hee! Hee! Nothing. Come on, we better hurry or we're going to be late for class." She grabbed her coat and bag and ran out of the room.

"Konoka get back here!" Asuna grabbed her jacket and ran into the hall. "You're acting all perverted lately!"

Kamo laughed and patted Negi on the shoulder. "Those two are always a lot of fun, huh Aniki?"

"They are something."

Negi had managed to catch up to Asuna and Konoka just before they left the dorms. They didn't talk the whole way to class. They were too busy dodging other students in order to get to class on time. Finally they reached their room. Thankfully they still had about a minute left before class actually started. They stopped for a second to catch their breath. Just as Negi was about to open the door, Shizuna walked out.

"Oh, there you are Negi-kun. I was starting to get worried." She gave them her usual friendly smile.

Asuna breathed out and straightened up. "I'm just glad that we made it on time today?"

"Yeah, it's really a miracle." Konoka laughed.

Shizuna chuckled and gave them a smile. "Seems like miracles come cheap for you guys."

Negi laughed. "You don't understand how many times we've been late in the past couple of weeks. Asuna-san, Konoka-san, hurry up and get into class."

"You better be nice to us. We know where you live," Asuna threatened.

"Considering that I live with you, I sure would hope so."

"…Jerk," she mumbled. Konoka giggled and ushered the redhead into the classroom. "I owe you one for watching them Shizuna-sensei."

"Don't worry about it. I took the liberty of calling roll for you." She handed him a list of the students' names. "I think almost everyone is there."

Negi did a quick scan over the list, his face falling. "Chisame-san isn't on here. She's been absent for the last three days. I hope she's okay."

"What month are we in?" Shizuna asked. "October? She never shows up in the first week of October."

"Come to think of it she wasn't here last year either. I just thought that she was sick. Do you know why she doesn't show up?"

"No one does. She hasn't ever said anything to anyone before. Then again you know how she is."

Negi nodded. "Yeah I guess. Still, I think I'll try talking to her later. I'm really worried about her."

Shizuna nodded. "You're sweet. Well you better get into class. I didn't mean to hold you up."

"Don't worry about it," Negi said with a smile. "I'll see you in the teachers lounge later?"

"Yes. Have fun with your class."

Negi chuckled and walked into the room. After the class gave him the traditional show of respect, he began teaching. He noticed that they were having particular trouble with their verbs. So after he was finished he gave them a few practices to work on. After about a half hour into the class Negi started to read a book that Evangeline had given to him. The book was all about demons and their attributes. Now that he had become a hanyo this book was very interesting to him. Throughout the lesson he would look up to see how the class was doing. There was some talking, which he didn't mind in the least. He just wanted to make sure that they were still on task. Every time he looked up he noticed that Ku Fei seemed to be immensely distracted. Setsuna was also drifting in and out, staring over in Ku Fei's direction.

'_I wonder what's going on with them. I haven't seen Ku-chan look that upset since Chao-san left. And why does Setsuna keep looking over at her. Man, so much is happening today.'_

"Is everything alright Aniki?" Kamo asked.

Negi looked down between his book and saw Kamo staring up at him. He raised the book up so it wouldn't look like he was talking to himself. "I think something is wrong with Ku-chan and Setsuna-nee-san. They look really upset."

"Now that you mention it, they do look a little different. You want me to go check it out?"

"…Sure. Just make sure your careful about it."

Kamo saluted and leapt off the desk. On his way up to Ku Fei's desk he got snagged up by Makie, who immediately started to say how cute he was. Negi slapped his forehead. Kamo was probably enjoying himself. He continued to watch from around his book as the little ermine made his way to Ku Fei's desk. He managed to get Ku Fei's attention and she leaned down to pick him up. He spent a minute or two talking with her then jumped off her desk. On his way over to Setsuna he got picked up by Sakurako, Akira, and even Zazie. Now he was just doing it on purpose! After what seemed like forever, he made it to Setsuna's desk. He talked to her and then ran all the way back up to Negi.

"So what did you learn?"

"That nee-san Zazie can juggle with her eyes closed and Akira-nee-san has really soft hands."

Negi's head hit the desk with a dull 'clunk.' It drew the attention of some of the girls, but he didn't care. "I meant about Ku-chan and Setsuna-nee-chan."

"Setsuna-nee-san didn't say too much. But it appears that Ku-nee-san is mad at Setsuna-nee-san."

"Hmm? I guess I'll wait until class is over and see if there's something I can do."

The rest of class went by without a problem. Finally the bell rang and Negi stood up. After giving them the homework he dismissed them. As the others were leaving he was approached by Ayaka, Chizuru and Natsumi.

"Oh. Do you have some questions about the work today?" He asked with a smile.

"Actually, I was wondering if Negi-sensei was feeling alright." Ayaka asked. She gave him a concerned smile. "You've been missing a lot of days recently."

"Not to mention you looked a little distracted today," Natsumi added.

Negi smiled and nodded. "Don't worry about me. Just been a little off the past couple of weeks. I'm fine now though."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't worry Iincho-san; I just have quite a bit on my mind recently."

"Well I'm glad that you're feeling well," Chizuru added. Um, I was wondering if you might know what's wrong with Ku Fei-chan. She looked like she had been crying when she came into class. Also, Chisame-chan has been absent quite a bit recently."

Negi smiled at the concern from the older girl. She was like the mother of the class. "Sorry, I don't know. I was planning on talking to both of them after class." He stood up and led the girls out of the room.

As per usual, Konoka and Asuna were both waiting for him outside of the classroom. They were also trying they're best to grill Setsuna about why she was so distracted.

"Come on, you have to have a reason," Asuna said.

"Yeah," Konoka agreed. "If something is wrong, you can tell us Secchan."

"I-It's just that I-I'm worried about Ku Fei. I kind of upset her this morning."

"I was planning on trying to talk to her," Negi said gaining their attention. "I was going to talk to Chisame-san as well. Does anyone know where they might be?"

"NEGI!" They turned around and saw Kotarou running towards them. He was dressed in his school uniform and he looked a little eager. "NEG-UWAHHH!"

Before the Inugami could get close to Negi he was scooped into a hug by Chizuru. "Kotarou-kun what are you doing here?" Her face suddenly took on a scary quality that made Ayaka and Natsumi shudder. "Did you go to school today?"

"Y-yes Chizu-nee! I-I swear! Now can you let go?! This is embarrassing?" Kotarou whined. He was turning several shades of red.

"What's embarrassing is living with you," Ayaka shot at him.

Kotarou stopped struggling against Chizuru's grasp. "Watch it granma' I'm not here to argue on whether you really are fourteen or not." Chizuru finally loosened her grasp in order to calm down the fuming Ayaka. "Anyways, Negi the principal has a job for us."

"B-but I'm kind of busy right now Kotarou-kun," Negi replied.

"But there's been a breach in the you-know-what. And he wants us to go and you-know-what."

"Figures," Negi sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Natsumi asked.

"Negi, why don't you go and deal with your task. I can see if Chisame-chan is alright."

Setsuna nodded. "And I'll see if I can find Ku Fei."

Negi sighed and then nodded. "Fine. Konoka-san, can you go and let the headmaster know that we're going to go take care of the…breach?"

Konoka nodded. "Good luck," she called, running down the hall.

"Right," Kotarou replied. "Come on Negi. Let's go and take care of this."

Negi nodded and followed after Kotarou. Asuna and Setsuna went opposite ways down the hall. "Do you have any idea what they meant by breach?" Natsumi asked. Her two roommates simply shook their heads.

* * *

Setsuna had finally caught up with Ku Fei in the cafeteria. Now the only problem was getting her to talk. She watched the smaller girl stare out the window for a few minutes. She needed to think of a way to say this.

"Ku Fei?"

Ku Fei looked away from the window and glowered at Setsuna. "Still mad at you."

Setsuna nodded and sat down at the table. "I figured that. Look Ku, when I started to tease you earlier I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that I get protective of my friends because I don't have very many." Ku Fei finally looked at Setsuna. "I could tell that something was going on between you and Negi and I went into big sister mode. I got overprotective of him and at the same time I wanted to know what had you so down. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for pressuring you like that."

Setsuna stared at Ku Fei for some time, but the blond said nothing. Figuring she was still mad Setsuna got up to leave. Just as she started to walk away she heard Ku Fei's voice. "You mean that?"

Setsuna stopped and looked at Ku Fei. "Mean what?"

"You said that I'm a friend. You never said that before. Do you really mean it?"

"Of course I do. I guess I never though that I would have to say it."

Ku Fei sighed and motioned for Setsuna to sit down. "I guess I tell you then."

Setsuna sat down next to Ku Fei and smiled. "Okay, but only if you really want to."

Ku Fei nodded. She took a deep breath and started to tell Setsuna everything. She started with how she always thought that Negi was cute. About how she admired his dedication and his intelligence. She told Setsuna that he was the only reason she continued her fight with Mana during the tournament. Her admiration for the way he fought against Chao, but didn't hurt her. She told Setsuna about how he made her feel better after Chao left the school. Finally she made it to the part about her flight with Negi. How she felt happier than ever before when they were floating around in the rain. How she still got that same fluttering feeling in her chest even now. When she was done she took a breath and sat back to judge Setsuna's reaction.

Setsuna was stunned to say the least. When she had been teasing Ku Fei about this before; she was just trying to get her to talk. She had no idea that her assumptions of the girl's feelings were correct. _'Baka! No wonder she was so upset. Baka! Baka!' _Her mind scolded over and over again. "Ku…I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Ku Fei shook her head. "It's okay. Maybe I overreacted." She attempted to laugh it off.

Setsuna rubbed her arm. She didn't have much expertise in the area. This seemed like more than a crush though. It seemed like love, at least to her it sounded like love. The hanyo shifted her seat so that she was closer to Ku Fei.

"Ku Fei…I think that this is more than a crush." Ku Fei shook her head. She knew that Setsuna was right; she just didn't want to admit it. "Ku, the sooner you admit it the better your going to feel."

Ku Fei looked up at Setsuna with a sad look. "What am I gonna do Setsuna?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know," Setsuna replied. She put a hand on Ku Fei's head and said, "If you need help I'm right here. I have similar problems. Maybe we can try and work it out together?"

* * *

Asuna stood outside of room #227. She had been lucky enough to get the number out of Nitta-sensei, now she just had to think of a battle plan. Chisame didn't exactly like others interfering with her life. Especially, when said interference came from her or other members of the magic group. However, she had to think of something. She had been standing outside of the room for the past thirteen minutes. If she stood there any longer she would go crazy.

"Okay," she said to herself. "This shouldn't be so hard. Just go in there and see what's wrong with her."

She knocked on the door and waited. Inside she could here scuffling noises and a chain on the door being rattled. Chisame opened the door looking dumbstruck. She was wearing a robe and it looked like she hadn't gotten out of bed all day. She stared at Asuna and Asuna stared back at her.

Chisame finally got irritated and decided to ask. "Why are you here Kagurazaka?"

"Why-why am I here?" Asuna repeated. Chisame nodded at Asuna as if she were slow. "I came to see if you're alright. You've been missing class quite a bit. Mind if I come in?"

"I appreciate the concern but I'm not really in the mood for…"

"Arigatou!" Asuna walked into the room without her permission. "So why have you…"Asuna stopped mid-sentence and looked at Chisame. "Have you been crying?"

Chisame's eyes opened wide. She looked into a mirror on her dresser and clenched her eyes shut. She wasn't wearing her glasses for starters. Her cheeks were stained pink and her eyes puffy and red. It was obvious even to the most dimwitted individual that she had been crying.

"Why were you crying?" Asuna asked again.

Chisame started to deny it the shook her head. "It-It's nothing. It's my problem not yours. You should just leave."

"But I want to know why you've been crying."

"I told you that it's none of your business." Chisame went over and sat down on her bed.

"Talking might make you feel better about it," Asuna coaxed.

"It won't make me feel better. Why can't you ever just mind your own business?" she asked coldly.

Asuna winced from the tone in her voice. Normally she would push and push until she got what she wanted. This didn't seem like the time to do that. So she smiled brightly and said, "If you need someone to talk to you can always come to me."

Chisame's eyes glistened with fresh tears. "Why?" She whispered.

"Why what?"

"Why are you so nice to me? I'm so mean to you and you still…you still want to help me? Why?"

Asuna stared at Chisame and shrugged. "Because I think it's sad. I think it's sad that you try and push people away when you have so much to offer." Chisame scoffed. "No really. You're smart, sweet when you want to be, and you're pretty." Chisame blushed but it was hard for Asuna to tell. "You don't have to be so lonely. If you want dome help you just have to ask." Asuna smiled and walked towards the door. "Till then." She waved her hand.

"When I was little!" Chisame burst out. Asuna slowly shut the door. She sat next to Chisame on the bed and nodded for her to continue. "Whe-when I was little I was always so shy. I mean I wasn't a pretty girl and there was really nothing special about me. I didn't have many friends and I was too scared to try and make some." She paused and wiped her eyes. "I thought that there was something wrong with me because of that. Then when I was five my dad just left. It only got worse after that. I thought that I did something to make him leave. I didn't know he cheated on my mom with her best friend. It was around the time that my baby sister Chika was born."

"You have a sister?!" Asuna asked I surprise, she was trying to stay on the positive side of the story.

Chisame reached into her nightstand and pulled out a small picture. In the picture she was much younger with another little girl standing next to her. In the picture both girls were wearing pink dresses and white bunny ears. Chisame had on the same big glasses. Both of the girls were smiling. Asuna squealed and looked at Chisame.

"Is that you and your sister? You guys look so cute!"

Chisame nodded and leaned back against the wall. Her smile was sad and bitter. "I was nine and Chika was four when that picture was taken. Even back then I liked to dress up and play on computers. We took that a day before her fifth birthday. It's her birthday today."

"Aw you're a great big sister!"

"…Anyways on Chika's birthday, I was having an exceptionally day. My dad had come by hat morning to get some of his things and left without even saying a word to me. All I wanted to do was sit in my room and play on my laptop. But my mom made me take Chika to the park and watch her. I took my computer along; I was in the middle of making my first website. When we got there Chika wanted me to play catch with her; she always carried around this blue ball that I got her. She loved that thing. She wanted me to play but I was just too busy. She kept begging and begging me. Finally I got angry and yelled at her. I told her that I hated her! All-all she wanted to do was play with her big sis-sister!" Chisame began to cry and her hands clenched her robe.

"Chisame…"

"I-I just let her cry! And sh-she went t-to play by her (sniff) self. And I just p-played on m-my computer!" She shivered and looked at Asuna. By now Asuna was too shocked to move. "I-I hear (sniff) some lady (hic) scream. When I looked up I-I saw Ch-Chika chasing-chasing that ball into the street! I Tr-tried to st-stop her, but I was (hic) (hic) too l-a-ate!"

Asuna's face paled in realization. "Oh my god," she gasped.

Chisame was shaking violently now. "She-she wen-went to g-get th-the ball because I (sniff) gave it to (hic) her!" She took a deep breath to steady herself. "The last thing I said to her was that I hated her! It was my fault! Because- because of me Chika…"

SLAP!

"BAKA!" Asuna shouted. She grabbed Chisame's face with both of her hands and stared her in the eyes. Tears were now falling from her mismatched eyes as well. "That was not your fault!" She cried. "You-you loved your little sister! She knew that and she loved you to! You were only nine! Where in the hell were your goddamn parents?!"

Chisame made a pathetic sobbing noise and clung to Asuna's shirt. Asuna pulled the net idol into her arms. She hated to see her cry. Someone who was usually so in control of herself was breaking down right in front of her. So she just let Chisame cry into her shoulder. Her heart ached painfully. It ached for the loss of innocence at such a young age, for the scared little girl that lost her only friend; most of all it ached for the broken young woman she was holding in her arms.

* * *

Negi walked down the halls of the school with a tired look about his face. The breach in the perimeter was nothing more than a few sprites. On his way back to the school with Kotarou he had gotten a call from Takamichi. He wanted Negi to meet him in the staff room ASAP. Kamo had decided to go see if Konoka and Asuna were back yet. Negi hoped that they had been able to find out what was wrong with Ku Fei and Chisame. Negi walked up to the staff room and opened the door. For all the desks in the room, Takamichi was the only teacher. He was talking to someone, but because of the high back of the chair Negi couldn't tell who it was.

"Ah' Negi, there you are. I want you to come over here and meet a new student." Takamichi said with a smile.

Negi looked at him confused. "A new student?" Negi shrugged and walked over to the chair. "Hi! My name is Negi…YOU!" He shouted.

"Hello! It's nice to see you again cute mage-kun! How is Setsuna-senpai?!"

**END CHAPTER

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**Well that chapter took me awhile to write! Please review! If you don't then Chizu-nee will…**

**Chizuru: Oh Makooo! (Still holding the leeks)**

**Me: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	10. Chapter 10: Her First Day

**Alright everyone lets get started on chapter 10! But first I want to thank all of my loyal reviewers; you guys know who you are!**

**Me: Kotarou-kun, will you please read the disclaimer.**

**Kotarou: …**

**Me: Is something wrong?**

**Kotarou: Do I get to see some action in your story?**

**Me: Of course. Your one of my main characters. Your gonna have a few good fight scenes.**

**Kotarou: I meant from a girl! I'm tired of people making me gay! Just because I have ribbons to tie off my hair.**

**Me: Don't worry, I have plans for you. Heh Heh! **

**Kotarou: Sweeet! Mako does not own Negima!**

**Me: Poor bastard.**

**

* * *

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**CHAPTER 10: Her First Day!**

"Hello cute little mage-kun! How is Setsuna-senpai?!"

Negi stared slack jawed at the girl in the chair. The girl in question was maybe about two inches shorter than Setsuna, so she was pretty short. Long blond hair fell out around a pretty face with soft features. Pale blue eyes shined back at him from behind large circular glasses. She was dressed in a white knee length dress with short puffy sleeves. The dress gave her a Gothic Lolita style look that amplified her cuteness. She was wearing a pair of white shoes with tiny black ribbons on them. In fact there were black ribbons on her dress, around her neck and in her hair. Next to her chair was a sword and dagger set, a heavy cloak for dealing with the cold weather and a black traveling bag. Negi looked down at the girl with a shocked expression.

"Is something wrong mage-kun?" Tsukuyomi asked sweetly.

Negi laughed nervously and shook his head. "Takamichi sidebar?" Takamichi joined Negi off to the side. "What is she doing here?" Negi whispered frantically.

Takamichi watched Tsukuyomi pull some scraps of paper from her bag. "I told you. She's a new student here."

"Why is a Shinmeiryuu swords-girl coming here to be a student?!"

"Don't worry about it Negi. The principal brought her in." Negi stared at Takamichi like he was insane. "He wanted some extra security."

"Has he finally cracked?! When we were in Kyoto she tried to kidnap Konoka-san! Not to mention all of the damage she caused. She's really dangerous!"

Takamichi looked over his shoulder. Tsukuyomi was busy playing with a small cat Onmyou. "She doesn't seem all that dangerous. Kind of cute actually."

"Takamichi?!" Negi glared at him. "You haven't seen what she's capable of. What if she does something wrong?!"

"Then you'll have to take care of it. I mean you are her teacher."

"Well then I gue-WHAT?!" The outburst grabbed Tsukuyomi's attention but she didn't say anything.

"That's right. Considering she already knows you we thought it would be best if you were her teacher. Also that way she can be on hand to protect Konoka-kun." Takamichi smiled at the shocked look on Negi's face. "She's also going to stay with you until she finds another place."

"No! I-I draw the line there. 1) I don't want her near Konoka-san. 2) We already have three people in one room. 3) Asuna-san is going to kill me." He finished desperately.

"Negi we have no other choice."

"No way!"

Negi poked his head inside of his dorm room door. "Asuna-san? Konoka-san?" He breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on." He walked in the room carrying a black bag.

Tsukuyomi followed him in the room. "Are you sure this is alright."

"Until Asuna-san and Konoka-san get here, I see know problem."

"You living with Ojou-sama makes this a lot easier. Too bad you don't live with Setsuna-senpai though." The blond dropped her cloak and set her swords against the wall. She began checking the edges of the door.

"Um yeah. What are you doing?" He asked curiously.

"Checking to see if we should set up a barrier. I think it will be fine though."

Negi nodded. "Right. Uh, do you …want anything to drink?"

"Oh. Um, a bottle of water if it's not too much trouble. Please."

Negi nodded. "No trouble at all."

"Aniki is that you?"

"Crap I forgot about Kamo."

The ermine walked out of the kitchen carrying a glass bottle of cola. "Asuna-nee-san and Konoka-nee-san aren't back yet, so I thought that…" There was a second of silence while Kamo stared at Tsukuyomi. "ANIKI! BEHIND YOU!" Kamo hurled the bottle at Tsukuyomi.

Negi's hand shot out to catch it but he was too slow. Tsukuyomi drew her dagger from it's sheathe and brought it up. The blade shattered the bottle, sending glass and soda everywhere. Kamo stared at her in surprise. Tsukuyomi started to try and wipe the soda from her dress.

"Tsukuyomi-san, are you okay?!"

"What?!"

Tsukuyomi grimaced at her dress but nodded. "I'm fine, just a little wet. You shouldn't throw stuff at people ermine-kun," she said with a pout.

"Okay we just entered some scary territory here. Mind telling me what's going on?" Kamo asked impatiently.

Negi sat down with the ermine and explained everything. Tsukuyomi had gone to change into her pajamas. She wouldn't be going anywhere for the rest of the day and her patrols started tomorrow night. Her pajamas consisted of a long sleeved purple top and a matching pair of pants. Half crescent moons were plastered all over the articles of clothing.

Kamo looked at Negi and then back at Tsukuyomi. "So this nee-san is your student? And on top of that she's our ally now?"

Negi nodded. "That's pretty much the sum of it all."

Kamo turned around and looked at the young hired gun. "I guess I owe you an apology nee-san. If Aniki says you're alright then I guess you are."

"Don't worry about it Kamo-kun. Just don't throw things at me anymore okay? It makes me twitchy." As if to confirm her statement her right hand twitched.

"…Right. Now that that's through, why don't you tell me why _you_ were sent here?" Negi found it odd that the principal would choose her.

Tsukuyomi sipped at her bottle and prepared her business tone. "Five days ago Konoe Konoemon, put in a request for A Shinmeiryuu swordsman. He felt that with the entire perimeter breaches it would be a good idea to put more security on his granddaughter. My main job here, besides campus security, is to trail and protect Konoka Ojou-sama."

Negi stared at the girl. How could she be so ditzy and cute one moment and the go all professional the next? "So you're here on business? No offense but after the job you did in Kyoto why would they assign you to this?"

Tsukuyomi stared at him. For a kid he sure was crafty. "I am required to stay close to Ojou-sama at all times. So they needed someone who could pass off as a junior high student. I was the only one in the age group. So I was the one that got sent here."

"So that's the reason then?"

"Yes. But…I'm also really excited. I've never gotten to go to school before," she said wistfully.

"You've never been to school before?!"

Tsukuyomi shook her head. "I've been with the Shinmeiryuu since I was just a baby. It's also going to be fun, seeing senpai again." She said blushing.

Negi shook his head. Just when he thought he had this girl figured out, she turned normal on him. She was excited because she had never been to school before. Not to mention she seemed to develop a crush on Setsuna. It was almost like she was a normal fourteen year old girl.

"I should also thank Negi-sama for allowing me into his class. And for giving me a place to stay." She was using her business voice and was kneeling down on one knee.

Negi looked at Kamo and back to the girl in front of him. She was making him nervous. "Pl-please d-don't bow to me!" He said waving his hands. "And call me Negi-kun or Negi-sensei. Negi-sama makes me feel old somehow."

Tsukuyomi gave him a small smile and sat back down. "Arigatou Negi-sensei."

"Yeah, it's good to see you two getting along and all," Kamo interrupted. "But what are we going to do about Konoka-nee-san and Ane-san. They aren't going to like this. Especially Ane-san."

Negi smiled at Kamo. "Don't worry Kamo-kun. Once we explain everything I'm sure it will be okay!" Just then there was a sound of a key in the lock. "AH! Hide quickly!" He said grabbing her arm.

"I though that you said it was okay?" Tsukuyomi asked in a panic."

"I lied!" He grabbed her and tossed her effortlessly onto the loft.

"You're strong!"

Negi grabbed her blades and bag and tossed them up to her just as the door was opening. "Negi-kun are you home? Oh there you are? Where's Asuna?"

Negi smiled nervously. "I guess she's still with Chisame-san."

"Oh. I hope they're okay. So how did your patrol go?"

Negi smiled. It seemed like they were going to get away with this. "It went fine. Just a couple of sprites. But I am tired so I think I'll turn in early." He turned around and started to climb the ladder.

"Who does this belong to?" Negi stiffened. He turned his head and saw Konoka pick up Tsukuyomi's cloak from the floor. "Do we have company Negi-kun?"

"No! I mean no. That's my cloak." He jumped down from the ladder and took the cloak from her.

"You wear pink?"

"Y-yeah! All the time!" He draped the cloak over his shoulders and gave her a spin. " See! My cloak, all mine! No one else's!"

"Um…okay," Konoka replied. She looked a little scared. "Goodnight then."

"G-goodnight!"

Kamo ran and jumped up onto Konoka's shoulder, he was trying his best not to laugh. "Is something funny Kamo-kun?"

"N-nothing n-nee-san," Kamo chuckled. "AH! HA! HA! HA!

Negi swore under his breath. _'That was a close one. And Kamo-kun isn't helping any! Looks like this is gonna be harder than I thought.'_

_

* * *

_

"Come on Tsukuyomi-san! We have to hurry!"

Negi and Tsukuyomi rushed down the halls toward Negi's classroom. They had to stick around and wait a little longer than usual for Asuna and Konoka to leave. When Asuna had come in last night it was almost midnight. So Negi had to wait around for them to leave before he could let Tsukuyomi come down from the loft. Now he was later than usual. By the time he reached the classroom he had to stop and catch his breath. Tsukuyomi fell to the ground taking in large gulps of air.

Once Negi had collected himself he stood up and straightened his gray suit. "Let me go in first. Then I'll introduce you. That way there will be less resistance."

"Good (huff) idea." She gave him thumbs up.

Negi nodded and walked into the class. Once he was inside the students seemed to settle down. "Sorry about being so late this morning. But I had to get started with a new student."

"A new student? I didn't know we were getting a new student," Ayaka replied.

Negi nodded and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Anyways you can come in now." The door opened and Tsukuyomi stepped nervously into the room. Some of the girls (mostly the ones that saw her on the school trip) went deathly quiet. Setsuna and Asuna looked especially shocked. "She's a new exchange student from Kyoto. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

Tsukuyomi glanced down at her shoes. She was nervous beyond all belief. "H-hi," she greeted shyly. "My-my name is T-Tsukuyomi. N-nice to meet you." She bowed slightly at the waist.

Before Tsukuyomi knew what was happening she was rushed by several girls in the class. Most of the girls that rushed her were the ones that hadn't seen her in Kyoto. Immediately she was bombarded by questions.

"How old are you?!" Madoka asked.

"F-fourteen…"

"Aren't you the actor from Cinema Village?" Natsumi asked.

"Y-yes I g-guess!"

"Your clothes are so cute! Where did you get them?" Makie asked.

"I-I don't have uniforms yet so…"

"You have swords. Are you like Setsuna-san?" Misa asked.

"Are you here to challenge Setsuna to another duel?!" Asakura asked.

"S-Sensei!" Tsukuyomi cried.

Negi pulled the girls away from Tsukuyomi. "Now now, take it easy on her you guys. She is new. You can mob her after class," he laughed.

The girls walked back to her desk. Negi helped Tsukuyomi up and smiled at her. "Why don't you take a seat next to Zazie-san?"

"Wh-which one is Zazie-san?"

Negi smiled sympathetically at her nervousness. "In the back. She's the one juggling."

Tsukuyomi looked up and saw Zazie in the back juggling multi-colored balls. She nodded and walked towards the back of the class. She could feel some eyes on her and turned around to see who it was. Setsuna, Asuna and Konoka were glaring hard at her. Though judging by the way Konoka was clinging to Setsuna she was more scared than anything. She wasn't paying attention where she was going and tripped on one of the desk legs. Just before she fell to the ground, a hand shot out and caught her. Her blue eyes looked up and saw Mana staring back at her. Tsukuyomi nodded her thanks and took her seat between her and Zazie.

"Well now that we have that settled. I hope you all will do your best to make Tsukuyomi-san feel welcome." He directed that statement more towards Asuna and Setsuna more than anyone. "Let's get started with today's lesson."

Tsukuyomi listened very carefully during the lesson. She always had wanted to go to school and while she was here she might as well get good grades. English was a fascinating subject to her. Tsukuyomi made sure that she double checked all of her work and asked for help when she needed it. Before she knew it, she was done with all of her work. Afterwards she took the time to survey her new classmates. She knew what some of the girls could do because she saw them in Kyoto. For example the gunslinger next to her and the martial artist a few rows down. Then there was her senpai and that redheaded girl. They were both friends of Konoka and so they were no threat. Most of the class seemed harmless enough, but there were a few people that concerned her.

Besides Negi, Tsukuyomi could sense four other magical signatures in the room, as well as two demons. One of the said demons was the little blond girl a couple of rows away. She knew there was another one in the room, she just couldn't figure out whom. Two of the signatures were faint but they were there. They came from one girl with long ebony hair and another girl with short black hair. The third signature was at the front of the class. This signature was so faint that she almost didn't pick it up. _'A ghost maybe?' _And the fourth signature was coming from right beside her.

She turned and looked at Zazie. The juggler was playing with a pack of cards. "Ex-excuse me?" Zazie looked at her. "I hate to be rude but are you perhaps a mage or a demon?" She secretly reached down for her dagger.

Zazie stared back at Tsukuyomi with an indifferent look. If she was at all surprised she didn't seem to show it. All she did was staring at Tsukuyomi for a few good minutes. Then finally she gave her a barely noticeable nod.

Before Tsukuyomi could respond she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and looked at Mana. "Don't worry about Zazie. We've been roommates for sometime now. She's not dangerous." With that said she turned around and continued to polish her gun.

Tsukuyomi looked at Mana and then Zazie. She knew from first hand that the gunslinger was a professional. If she thought Zazie was okay then she must be right. "I am sorry Zazie-san. I should not have judged you."

Zazie stared at her with wide eyes. After a second she just shook her head. "That means everything is fine," Mana clarified.

"Good! I hope we can still be friends." Zazie looked her up and down and nodded. "Arigatou!" Tsukuyomi said happily. She didn't have many friends and she was always happy to make some new ones.

When class was over Tsukuyomi grabbed her books and walked up to the front of the class. Zazie and Mana agreed to show her around during lunch, but first she needed to talk to Negi. She stayed clear of the rest of the girls. She still didn't quite trust them. Just as Tsukuyomi reached Negi's desk she saw one of the magical signatures. It was a ghost and she was floating around that reporter girl.

"Negi-sensei?"

Negi looked up and smiled at Tsukuyomi. He didn't quite trust the girl. Since she was one of his students though, he wanted to try and make her feel a little more comfortable. "How was your first day in class?"

Tsukuyomi nodded, trying not to look too pleased. "It was pretty fun. But I am a little worried."

"Really? About what?"

"I don't know if I should say so here." She pointed back at Asakura.

"If it's about magic, she already knows."

"…Well, I have sensed a few magical signatures in the class. Also, in case you haven't noticed you have a ghost in the room."

"I do?" Negi asked. He was unaware that she was talking about Sayo.

Sayo looked up from the pictures Kazumi was showing her. She floated over to Tsukuyomi excitedly. "You can see me?!" she asked happily.

"Oh you meant Sayo-san. Sorry, sometimes I forget that you're a ghost."

Sayo smiled happily at him. "That's a good thing. I think?"

Tsukuyomi nodded ad pointed at Sayo. "Yes she is the one. I was wondering if you would like me to exterminate her." The blond reached down and drew her sword.

"AHHHHH! Kazumi-chan! Negi-sensei!"

Kazumi jumped out in front of Sayo. "Come on now. You're scaring the poor girl!"

Negi nodded. "Th-that's okay Tsukuyomi-san. Sayo-san is a nice ghost. She really is a sweet girl!"

"Okay then. If you want her to stay, then I guess she can. Please excuse me Sayo-san.

"You-you're lucky I don't knock you out!" Asakura growled. "Can't you see how scared she is?!"

"I-It's really o-okay Kazumi-chan!"

Tsukuyomi looked closer at Sayo. The ghost was shaking and it looked like she was about to cry. "I am sorry," Tsukuyomi stated coolly. "It is my job to exterminate demons and spirits that are potentially hazardous. But you seem harmless enough."

"Tsukuyomi-san," Negi began, "how can you see her. The conditions are different for Asakura-san and me."

"I have been able to see ghosts and demons for what they are since I was a child. It was one of the main reasons that the Shinmeiryuu wanted me so much. Ghosts are my specialty."

Negi felt a little bad for her. Being able to see ghosts and spirits for so long must have been tough on her. Especially when she was just a child. "I-I never knew that."

"Only my master and the higher ups know. But like I said she seems harmless enough. I doubt you can even interact with stuff on a physical level."

Sayo shook her head sadly and started to cry again. That was something that upset her more that anything. Not being able to be seen by others and interact with them. She hated her own weakness.

"Sayo-chan?" Kazumi asked.

Tsukuyomi sighed and shook her head. "If you want, I can teach you how to make yourself visible. And how to interact with objects."

Sayo stopped crying and looked at the swords-girl. "Y-you can?"

"Can you really do that?" Kazumi asked.

"I told you that ghosts were my specialty. We can start tomorrow if you want."

Sayo floated over to her, bouncing excitedly in the air. "Y-you really want to help me?! Thank you so much! You won't regret it!"

"Yeah sure," the blond replied. She waved her hand at the ghost. "Just make sure you're here after classes tomorrow."

"I will! Arigatou!"

Tsukuyomi 'hmphed' and started to leave the room. Negi grabbed his bag and ran to catch up to her. "That was really nice of you."

She looked at him and sniffed. "It's not like I wanted to be nice to her. I'm not looking for a friend or anything. I just know what it's like to be alone."

Before Negi could ask what she meant they were jumped by Asuna. Because Negi was in the way, Tsukuyomi couldn't draw her sword and was pinned against the wall. Setsuna was right beside Asuna. Konoka stood behind them, with Kamo on her shoulder.

"What are you doing here?! What's the big idea?!" Asuna growled angrily.

Tsukuyomi glared dangerously at Asuna. It was an evil leer that sent a chill down Asuna's spine. "Let go of me. Now."

"Are you here for Ojou-sama?" Setsuna asked. "Answer me Tsukuyomi!"

"Negi, how could you let her into our class?!"

"Because it's not what you think," he said, coming to his senses. "Just let her go."

"But…"

Negi placed his hand on Asuna's arm and pulled it down. "Let her go." Asuna glared at him but did as she was told. "Now just give me a chance to explain."

And so Negi explained the entire situation to the girls. He gave them and abridged version of the story. He told them why she was there and where she would be staying. After hearing this Asuna and Konoka looked a little shaken.

"That little psycho is not staying with us!" Asuna cried.

"Hey! I'm right here!" Tsukuyomi cried back.

"That's kind of the point."

"That's enough Asuna-san!" Negi said firmly. "I know how you feel but we have no other choice. Besides, I don't think that Tsukuyomi-san is a bad person. She was just doing her job in Kyoto."

"Arigatou Negi-sensei." Tsukuyomi stuck her tongue out at Asuna.

Setsuna shook her head. "No! I agree with Asuna-san! I don't want her going anywhere near you or Ojou-sama!" She turned and glared fiercely at Tsukuyomi.

"S-Secchan…it's okay."

"What?! Ojou-sama what are you saying?!"

"Are you crazy Konoka?"

Konoka looked at Asuna. There was an edge to her face that Negi had never seen. "I don't appreciate that Asuna," She said gruffly. Asuna was slightly taken aback by Konoka's tone. "In Kyoto she was just doing her job. Grandpa thinks that this is a good. I'm not too thrilled with this either, but Negi-kun trusts her. Then so do I. Tsukuyomi-san, you can stay with us."

Tsukuyomi was touched. The person that had the least reason to trust her was going to let her stay in her dorm. Tsukuyomi bowed her head. "Arigatou Ojou-sama. My sword will be yours until the day that it breaks." She leaned down and kissed Konoka's hand in a show of respect.

Several things happened in that instant. Konoka blushed from the contact and Kamo leered at them like an old man. Negi and Asuna stood stock still. They were slightly surprised by the boldness of the newcomer. Setsuna on the other hand looked angry and if you asked Asuna a little jealous. This girl just always seemed to have her on edge. Setsuna dropped Yuunagi on the ground, the cover sliding off. Just before she could draw the long blade someone called out to them.

"Kagurazaka?" Chisame approached them; she looked wearily at Setsuna and Konoka. "Kagurazaka, I wanted to um, well, you know for…last night." The brunette said sheepishly.

Asuna looked confused for a second and then shook her head. "You're welcome," she said cheerfully.

Kamo was once again leering, this time at Asuna. His mind was going into dirty man overload. "What exactly did you do for her Ane-san?"

Most of the time Asuna would come back and crush Kamo. This time she seemed a little more uncomfortable than usual with his joke. Negi jumped in saving them both from embarrassment. "I'm glad you're feeling better Chisame-san."

"Yeah we were staring to get worried about you," Konoka replied. She gave Chisame one of her big smiles.

Then something happened that never happened. Chisame smiled. Sure it was barely noticeable, but it was genuine. "I guess I owe one to Kagurazaka."

Asuna looked at Chisame, most of the blush gone from her face. "You can start by calling me Asuna."

Chisame looked a little surprised with the request. "It couldn't hurt. I have to get going; I have some work to do." She turned on her heel and walked away from the group.

Tsukuyomi looked at Asuna and then at Chisame's back. They may not have noticed it but she sure as hell did. Asuna and Chisame were had blushed just saying hello to one another. Not that she cared of course. To her it was just useful blackmail.

"Tsukuyomi-san, are you coming?"

Tsukuyomi turned and saw Mana and Zazie waiting just behind Setsuna. "Coming!" As she was walking by Setsuna she stopped. "You don't like me now, you're coiled so tightly senpai." She placed her gloved hand on Setsuna's cheek, making her tremble. "Who knows? In time, I might be able to get you to release some of that…pressure," she breathed, trailing her hand down Setsuna's cheek.

Again everyone was left to stare after the flirtatious girl. It was Setsuna's turn to blush and Konoka's turn to get jealous. Negi sighed. For someone who was supposed to keep a low profile she sure was making a lot of commotion.

* * *

Tsukuyomi strolled down the halls at a leisurely pace. She needed some time to think over the events of today. The rest of the day's classes hadn't gone by as smoothly as English class had. Most of the teachers weren't in the mood to put up with a new student. Accept for one teacher named Seruhiko. Of course she had almost attacked him after class because of the magical signature he gave off. Tsukuyomi realized that she had alienated several of the teachers in this fashion and even a couple of the students. Maybe she should have read her briefing better. Oh well, she never was one for details anyways.

Tsukuyomi checked her watch and sighed. She still had three hours left before she started her patrol. The young Shinmeiryuu picked up her pace and started running towards her dorm room. She wanted to get changed and get outside quick. She wanted to survey some of the grounds before her shift actually started. Tsukuyomi took out the key that Negi let her borrow and opened up the door. She ran into the room, ignoring all of the others. Setsuna and Asuna ignored her like they had agreed on doing. Negi and Konoka stared after the girl in all curiousness.

"Tsukuyomi-san, why are you in such a hurry?" Negi asked.

Tsukuyomi looked down at him from the loft they were sharing. "I want to get outside. I need to see the terrain before my patrol starts."

Konoka stared down at her hands then looked at the shorter girl. "You-do you want to stay for dinner?" Konoka felt a little uncomfortable around the girl but she believed in being a good host.

Setsuna and Asuna huffed and went into the kitchen to get more things for dinner. Tsukuyomi knew she wasn't really welcome and shook her head. "I can't. What was the point of even asking?"

"We-well I-I just felt s-sorry about…" Konoka froze and stared at Tsukuyomi.

The blond's expression had turned from sad to angry in a matter of seconds. "Arigatou Ojou-sama." She leapt down from the loft and wrapped her cloak around her. "But I don't need pity from you."

"N-no! I-I-I didn't mean i-it that way!" Konoka stammered.

Negi felt bad for both of the girls. Konoka was trying her best to deal with this new development. She had been polite, only to have it thrown back in her face. Tsukuyomi, who didn't really have many friends, took Konoka's offer to be patronizing. Perhaps there was a way that he could solve this problem.

"Tsukuyomi-san, Konoka-san didn't mean to make you upset." Konoka nodded fervently. "How about you eat with us and afterwards I'll keep you company on patrol."

Tsukuyomi's face softened slightly. "I-I still don't know."

Konoka stared at her with puppy dog eyes and a quivering lip. "Please. It will make me feel better." Konoka was always quick to try and make amends.

'_What? What the hell is she doing?! It looks so cute! Damn!'_ Tsukuyomi sighed and nodded. "…Fine."

"Yay!" Konoka skipped off into the kitchen to help the others.

"How in the hell did she do that?"

Negi smiled. "That's her secret weapon. Damn thing should be illegal."

"I agree."

Dinner was tense, just as Tsukuyomi expected it to be. She only talked when she wanted somebody to hand her something. Of course Negi and Konoka were the only ones who would hand her the requested items. It was nearing the end of dinner and only about ten words had been said. Negi decided to try and at least get a conversation going.

"So…Tsukuyomi-san, what kind of sword style do you study?" he asked curiously.

"Um…Shinmei," she replied in confusion.

"He means, what kind of Shinmei style," Setsuna answered. She sounded annoyed, but also strangely amused by the girl's obliviousness.

"Just the basic style and a little Haiya-Te. Mostly the Nito Seiho."

"…That's the kind that I study."

"What are the odds?" Asuna asked sarcastically.

"Actually I studied them because of senpai."

'_She studied that sword style before she ever even saw me. Why?'_

"Is Secchan really that well known?" Konoka asked.

"Yep! At least in the Shinmeiryuu." Tsukuyomi smiled. "She's sort of a legend really. Someone with such an impressive record at a young age is inspiring. I wanted to be like her so I studied the same styles."

Setsuna looked a little embarrassed. To have some model their entire career around you was really flattering. Asuna however wasn't buying into the nice girl act.

"Is anything about you original?"

"Asuna! That's rude!" Konoka scolded.

"It's okay Ojou-sama. I do have one other style, but I'm only a beginner."

"What is it?" Negi asked.

"…The Dance of Death."

Setsuna started choking on her food. Konoka rubbed her back. "Y-you know the Dance of Death style?!"

"Only beginner techniques," she admitted sheepishly. "But I am trying really hard."

"Ah! I'm going to get Secchan a glass of water and bring out the dessert." Konoka jumped up and disappeared into the kitchen.

Setsuna glared hard at Tsukuyomi. Now that Konoka had left the room she could say what was really on her mind. "You held back in Kyoto."

"Wh-what?" Asuna asked. She looked over and saw Tsukuyomi smiling innocently back at Setsuna.

"If you know the dance of death, then why did you hold back? You had a fair chance at beating me."

Negi and Asuna both looked shocked at this revelation. Back when they were in Kyoto it seemed like Setsuna had the blond completely outclassed. Was that all an act? Could she really beat Setsuna in a duel?

"If I won, the Ojou-sama would have been hurt. I don't like hurting innocent people, especially girls. Besides, if Chigusa-san won, I would get nothing out of it. I just did my job well enough to get paid. That's all." She stood up and pulled on her cloak. "I have to get on patrol."

Negi shook his head to clear the shock and followed her to the door. "You aren't staying for dessert."

Tsukuyomi turned around and saw Konoka holding a chocolate cake. "I have to go on patrol but I appreciate the dinner Ojou-sama." She bowed her head and opened the door.

"Yeah, dinner was great." Negi never took his eyes off of Setsuna. She was trembling, sort of like she was going into shock.

"Alright, I guess I'll save you guys a piece. Be careful!"

"We will." Negi followed after Tsukuyomi and stepped up beside her. He couldn't believe that she could beat Setsuna in a fight. Then again he knew looks to be deceiving. He was a perfect example after all. "You managed scare a ghost, shake up one of the calmest people I've ever met, and get good marks on your work. Not bad for a first day."

"I don't know what you mean. I'm not sure why Setsuna-senpai is all upset." She gave him a cute, innocent smile and skipped up in front of him.

Negi's lips slowly curled up into a smirk. **_"I like this girl,"_ **a voice in his head hissed. _"You think she can be trusted Kakos?" **"I didn't say that. I just said that I like her." **"She is interesting. We better keep an eye on her though."_ Negi followed the Shinmeiryuu with a smirk on his lips. If nothing else this was going to make his life more interesting. Perhaps, just maybe she would be handy for other things as well.

**END CHAPTER

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**

**That's that. I hope you all liked the addition of Tsukuyomi. Just a tad schizophrenic though isn't she?**

**Kotarou: Who cares? I just want to know who my girl is going to be.**

**Me: I think I'll let the readers decide that. Tell me who you think Kotarou should be with. Keep in mind that I try to stay away from the canon pairings. Though any are welcome crack is better.**

**Well that's all for this chapter. Hit the review button and I'll see you next time.**


	11. Chapter 11: A Date With A Net Idol!

**Alright! Let me start off by thanking you for reviewing once again. Some of the suggestions for Kotarou were pretty good and one or two actually tie into my story. So let's, get started with this chapter.**

**Me: Okay, why don't we have Tsukuyomi read the disclaimer?**

**Tsukuyomi: (Twitch)**

**Me: Are you okay?**

**Tsukuyomi: Just too much sugar.**

**Me: Good! I thought someone threw something at you.**

**Tsukuyomi: Who threw something?! (Draws swords)**

**Me: (Sweat drops) Before I have to buy a new couch, read the disclaimer.**

**Tsukuyomi: Mako does not own Negima. (Wild eyes)**

**Me: R-i-iiight! On with the story!

* * *

**

**CHAPTER 11: A Date With A Net Idol!**

Negi bolted upright. He was covered in a cold sweat and he was shivering. "What's wrong with you," a voice grumbled. "Go back to sleep."

Negi turned around and saw Tsukuyomi staring blearily at him. He knew that without her glasses she was blind as a bat. "S-sorry. I-I'm going to get some fresh air."

Tsukuyomi turned back over, presumably to go back to sleep. Negi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It had been about a week and a half since Tsukuyomi came to stay with them. He had gotten used to the girl quickly, she wasn't all that bad. I mean they were even sharing the loft. You couldn't get much closer in that small amount of space. Kamo had also gotten used to her quickly. He just kept bothering Negi to make a Pactio with the girl. Tsukuyomi even mentioned that she wouldn't mind being partnered to him. Konoka, being the sweet and forgiving person she was, actually came to like the Shinmeiryuu. They're relationship developed into a weird friendship. Asuna was a bit of a different story. She still didn't trust Tsukuyomi worth anything. At least she stopped putting stuff into the blonds' tea, though she did continue to keep an eye on her.

Negi grabbed his phone and his jacket from the desk. He put his jacket on and quietly climbed down the ladder. Being as quiet as possible he opened the window and climbed out onto the tree branches. He turned around and shut the window. Negi smiled at the ring on his finger, he loved that thing. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rectangular box. Negi raised his hand and a small flame appeared at the tip of his index finger. Negi took a deep drag and placed the pack of cigarettes in his jacket pocket. He took another pull on the cigarette, allowing the menthol to cool his dry throat. Smoking had been a habit of his ever since he went away on his training. It was a good way to deal with the tension after training sessions. He hated smoking, but after five years it kind of became a habit.

"**_You know you really shouldn't smoke. Bad for our health."_**

Negi looked up; standing on the branch above him was Kakos. The demon looked just like he always did. Instead of a solid body he was more like a spirit. "Were a demon remember? Not all of the same rules apply. And what's with waking me this morning?"

Kakos smirked back at him. **_"I just thought that you would appreciate a wake up call. That's all."_**

Negi took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew out a puff of smoke. "What I would appreciate is more sleep. What have I told you about projecting your dreams into my subconscious?"

"**_What have I told you about talking to a kid?" _**

"Fine." Negi glowed for a second before returning to his adult form. "Happy? Now why the hell are you sending me your dreams?"

"**_I don't get you kid? One minute you bitch about me keeping my past a secret. Then when I try and share it with you, you get all bitchy again!"_**

"I want to know more about your past, true. But I would prefer to do it when I'm awake. Those dreams really freak me out."

"**_Poor guy is afraid of his dreams. Looks like you're still a kid."_** Kakos laughed.

Negi glared at Kakos. "You better watch it. The only reason your out here is because I like to see you when I talk to you."

"**_You better show me some more respect than that." _**Kakos bared him a fanged smile. **_"Without me you would have more than just a scar on your chest."_**

Negi grimaced and took another pull on his cigarette. "Granted, you did help me out a little with that behemoth. That fact is that without me you would still be locked in that dimension. Without me your nothing."

"**_Like you would be something without me?" _**Kakos sneered.

"I can do without your help."

"**_There may come a time when we'll see."_**

Negi stared at his other half in mild curiosity. Before he could ask Kakos what he meant he heard someone call his name.

"Who are you talking to Negi-sensei?"

Negi turned around and saw Tsukuyomi staring at him from the window. Through stupid mistakes on his part she found out about both his aging and his smoking habit. Luckily, she still didn't know about him being half-demon. Otherwise she would probably be trying to kill him.

"No one." He took one last puff and snuffed the cigarette out on the tree. "Sorry if I woke you up."

Tsukuyomi shook her head. "No big deal. It's almost time for us to go train the mundanes anyways." She turned around and went to get changed.

Negi looked at his phone and sighed. He barely had time to shower and change. There was also no time for him to put his glamour back on. A day in his true form wasn't going to hurt him. The girls had to learn to get used to it anyways. Holding this glamour up all the time was starting to annoy him. He climbed in through the window. Inside he could already here the shower running. While Tsukuyomi was getting ready he decided to pick out the clothes he was going to wear. Kamo woke up and staggered into the kitchen, presumably to make coffee. Eventually Tsukuyomi came out of the bathroom fully dressed. Negi went and took his shower next. When he came out he saw Tsukuyomi shaking Konoka.

"Ojou-sama, it's time to wake up for training." She continued to shake the sleeping girl. Konoka mumbled something unintelligible and rolled onto her side. "Negi-sensei, I can't seem to wake Ojou-sama."

Negi smiled and knelt next to the bed. "Let me try." He cleared his throat and put his head next to Konoka's ear. "Konoka-san, there's a new fortune telling deck on sale!"

Konoka's head shot up like a rocket. She was still sleepy eyed but she was awake now. "Wher'ze it?"

Tsukuyomi's giggle drew her attention. "N-Negi-kun? You're all big," she responded blearily.

Negi smiled and Tsukuyomi giggled again. "It's time to wake up for training."

Konoka pulled the covers off and stumbled out of bed. She stumbled towards the bathroom door and smacked face first into wall. She finally got into the bathroom and closed the door. A second later there was the sound of another thump.

"Is she going to be okay?"

Negi smiled. "Don't worry about her. She gets like that when she hasn't had enough sleep."

"Aniki, Tsu-nee-san, if you want coffee there's some in the kitchen," Kamo called.

"I think I could use a little pick me up." Negi yawned and walked into the kitchen, Tsukuyomi followed him. "You want some coffee?"

"Two sugars please."

Negi pulled out two mugs and poured them each some coffee. Kamo placed some sugar into each cup for them. "So you're going with the true form today?"

Negi smiled. "Well we have to get used to it sometime."

"Don't worry. I think I like this form better." Tsukuyomi winked at him.

Negi was dressed in a long sleeved purple shirt. On the front of the shirt was a pattern made in a black web design. He wore a pair of black leather pants and a pair of black boots. He had his long red hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. In an odd turn, he had painted his nails a dark black, or just used his magic to change their appearance. Around his neck was a silver chain with the Gothic cross on the end. Negi smiled ran a hand through his hair. Of course a more gothic style would appeal to Tsukuyomi. He knew not to take her flirting too seriously; flirting was more of a game to her than anything.

"Well if that's the case, then I might have to stay in this form." That was another thing. Her flirtatious habits had started to rub off on him. Even though he usually only did it with her.

"G'morning." They turned around and saw Konoka standing in the door. She looked a little more awake after her shower. "It's time to go?" She slumped forward and Negi caught her.

After pouring some caffeine into Konoka's system, they left to meet the others for their morning training. Kotarou was already waiting for them along with Setsuna, Ku Fei, Kaede, Yue, Haruna and Nodoka. Yue and Nodoka looked tired and had to keep leaning on Kotarou for support. Kaede and Ku Fei on the other hand seemed as bright eyed as ever. Setsuna met them half way and started up a conversation with Konoka. One of the hanyo's eyes was kept on Tsukuyomi at all times. After revealing her sword style Setsuna kept a close eye on the other girl.

"Okay, here's how were going to do this," Negi said.

"Why do we have to come all the way up here?" Nodoka asked.

"Because we have to stay out of the sight of normal people," Kaede explained. "Our training has to stay secret after all."

"Are you sure we should have let Asuna sleep?" Konoka asked.

Negi nodded. "She needs some rest. She had to do extra routes this morning because someone called in sick. How should we do this?"

"We should work with Konoka-nee-san," Kamo replied. "After all, her abilities are likely to become our greatest asset."

Negi nodded. His handsome face forming a smile. "I want to work with Konoka-san on her healing abilities. Ku-chan, Yue-san, and Nodoka-san I want you to practice disarming each other. Paru-san should practice using her artifact."

"Sounds like a good idea. I guess the rest of us can just pair off," Setsuna replied.

Kotarou smirked and created several body doubles. "Come on Kaede-nee-chan; let's see what you've got."

Kaede created a number of body doubles to match Kotarou's. "If you wish Kotarou-kun."

The two of them and their clones leapt high into the air clashing hard. Without warning Tsukuyomi leapt at Setsuna drawing her swords. Setsuna put her guard up just in time. The swords hit with a clang. Tsukuyomi pulled back and jumped up onto one of the walls of the ruins.

"Come on senpai, you can do better than that," she taunted with a dreamy voice.

"I'll show you just how much better!" Setsuna drew Yuunagi from it's sheathe and leapt up after Tsukuyomi.

"Sure it's a good idea to let them partner up?" Ku Fei asked.

Negi shook his head. "Don't worry. They'll be fine. You guys better get to work. Come on, let's go Konoka-san."

"Aye-Aye," Konoka saluted.

"Stop that!" Negi laughed. He led her off to the side and opened up his white coat. "I want you to practice the bone healing spell."

"Awww! But that spell is too hard!" Konoka whined. Never the less she took out her practice wand. "Do I have to?"

"Practice makes perfect," Kamo replied.

Negi nodded and reached inside of his coat. He pulled out a bone that had been splintered in half. "You've been practicing this spell for a long time now. Today is the day we get it right."

Konoka attempted the spell for a half an hour while the others sparred. Negi watched her perform the spell and couldn't find any reason for it not to work. _'I don't get it. Her hand movement is good, she's focusing enough magical energy, and so what could be wrong? Unless…"_

"Konoka-san, why aren't you applying the magic?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" She asked nervously.

"You aren't putting enough effort into rejoining the bone. Why not?" Negi gave her a suspicious glare.

Konoka shifted and looked a little nervous. "What-what if I mess up? I could really end up hurting someone. I don't want to do that."

"So don't think about it," Negi said with a smile. "This is practice so it doesn't matter if you screw up. Just think of the bone as belonging to someone who's important to you. Then just do the spell."

"What a load of trash." Evangeline walked up to him. Chachamaru followed close behind with Chachazero on her head. "If you need to think like that, then maybe you weren't meant to be a mage."

Negi stared down at Evangeline. "Give her a break."

"There are no breaks bouya. Taking a break is how you end up dead."

Chachamaru scratched the back of her head. "Don't you think that's a little harsh master?"

"I'm just telling her the truth Chachamaru. If someone with her power can't even do this spell, then she should quit."

Konoka glared up at Evangeline. Her entire life people always underestimated her. Now was her chance to prove that she belonged in the world of mages. Konoka focused some magic into the palm of her hand and placed it over the bone. "Os Convenio!" A light blue aura surrounded the bone. It started to move slightly; right at the point of fracture the bone started to rejoin. Konoka waited for the bone to completely knit itself before jumping into the air.

"I did it! I did it!" The brunette cheered happily. She jumped over to Negi and hugged him. "Did you see that?!"

Negi laughed at the childish behavior and patted her on the head. "Good job! I knew you could do it."

"Remember bouya," Evangeline said, "If you want to be more like your dad, you have to do more than look like him."

"Tough love can save lives," Chachazero replied.

"I'd say I'm closer to becoming Albireo in behavior," Negi chuckled.

"God I hope not!" Evangeline shuddered at the thought. Then an idea came to her head. "If that's so, then lets have a match. Right here, right now."

"I'd love to see that." Kotarou walked toward them holding his side.

"Kota-kun! What happened to you?!"

"Don't worry about it nee-chan. Just a small bruise."

Kaede fell out of a tree and landed next to him. "He let his guard down." She patted him on the head.

"Yeah. Anyways, are the two of you going to get it on?"

Negi looked at Evangeline and shook his head. "If I have to fight you, I want it to be fair."

"More like Albireo with a little Gato. You didn't happen to know him as well?" Negi shook his head. Evangeline shrugged and threw a punch at his mid-section. Negi barely managed to dodge the move. "Don't make the same mistake again bouya. You underestimate the enemy too much!"

"Very well." Negi rose to his feet and got into a crouched position.

"Negi-sensei, we have a problem," Yue replied.

"Well I'm sorta-Oh come on!" Negi turned around and closed his eyes as did Kotarou. The other girls just laughed. "What did you guys do?!"

"We disarmed our clothes," Ku Fei laughed nervously.

It was true; all three girls were in their underwear. Only Yue seemed to keep her pants on. Negi rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples. First a sparring challenge from his master and now this. That was not the way to disarm someone! _'Heh, like I can talk!' _Without looking, he shrugged off his trench coat and tossed it to Ku Fei. Konoka handed her magicians cloak to Nodoka. There were a series of flashes and Yue was suddenly covered by Kotarou's jacket.

"Don't say that I'm never nice to you chibi," Kotarou said. He stilled had his eyes closed.

"Yeah thanks," she replied sarcastically. She did blush just a little while she buttoned up the jacket.

"Okay," Negi turned back around, "we're going to try something new. Konoka-san, I want you to train with Haruna-san. The three of you have to face me." He held his arms out to his side. In his left hand appeared the black short sword and in his right was the dragon sword. "Try to disarm me with only magic." Yue and Nodoka suddenly looked nervous. Ku Fei took it as a challenge and waited for him to attack.

"Yay! Now this is what I've been waiting for! Chop their heads off!" Chachazero cackled in delight.

"Isn't that unfair Negi-kun? I mean you've had so much training," Haruna replied. She didn't envy her three friends.

"She's right Aniki," Kamo replied. He was on top of Chachazero's head now. "They are just beginners."

"I know they're beginners Kamo-kun!" Negi turned around to look at him. "I'm not gonna go all out!"

"Sagitta Magica: undecim lucis!"

"Uh-oh…."

* * *

"Man I'm so bored!"

Asuna walked down the halls wearing a sullen expression. When she woke up everyone was already gone. She knew that they were off somewhere training and was grateful that they didn't wake her up. She didn't really want to train today, but she wanted some company. She wanted to get out of the school and do something. The only problem was that everyone was off doing their training and some of them had club activities. Hell she would even take Tsukuyomi at this point. And that was saying something. Just as she turned the corner to go to the cafeteria an idea came to her.

'_I wonder what Chisame-chan is doing today? I know she won't be training with the others. Maybe she will want to do something with me!'_

The thought of going and spending some time with Chisame made Asuna excited. She had spending quite a bit of time with the net idol as of late. Ever since the night Chisame told her about Chika she had lightened up considerably. She still acted tough and that annoyed Asuna. She couldn't understand why the brunette didn't want to be with others. That didn't matter though. Once you got Chisame to open up a little she wasn't all that bad. Still, something bothered the redhead. Whenever she saw Chisame something in her chest would do a somersault and her heartbeat would pick up. At first she thought that it was because of what Kamo had said to her. That no longer seemed the case.

'_Why am I acting like this? I mean, yeah I felt bad for her when she mentioned her sister, who wouldn't? But for me to act like this? I mean it's not like she's really interesting to me. Sure she's fun, smart, and nice when you get to know her, and she's really pretty! But it doesn't mean that I like her! I mean I don't like girls! Right? Right?!'_

Asuna shook her head. Of course she was right! She didn't like girls, she liked older men. This was just a nagging thought because of that stupid Kamo! Still she did find herself overly excited to go and see Chisame. There was only one way for her to figure this out.

'_I can't believe I'm going to do this! But I have to ask her out on a date and see what happens! I just can't let her know that it's a date. Now I just have to find her!'_

Asuna looked up and saw Makie coming out of the cafeteria. Perhaps she knew where Chisame was. "Makie-chan!"

"Oh Asuna. What's up?"

"Actually…I-I was wondering if you knew where Chisame-chan is."

Makie looked a little confused but nodded. "She's in the cafeteria. I saw her sitting by the windows with her computer."

"Arigatou!" She hurried into the cafeteria, leaving Maki to stare at her strange behavior.

Once inside Asuna could already see Chisame sitting on the ledge of the window. Just like Maki said, she was working on her computer. Asuna smiled and started to sneak up behind her friend. She was just behind her and could tell that she was getting frustrated with the machine.

"OI!"

Chisame jumped, almost dropping the laptop on the ground. She turned around and saw Asuna giggling like a little girl. She fixed her glasses and glared at the redhead. "What's the big idea?" She asked irritably.

"Y-y-you should have…seen your face." Asuna laughed.

Chisame sighed and shook her head. "Unless you have something important to say, I am really busy."

"Well…there i-is something." _'The best way is to just ask!' _"Do you want to go see a movie?" She blurted out in a quick sentence.

Chisame stared at Asuna in surprise. Out of all the things she was expecting that was at the bottom of the list. "…Um no-no thanks."

Asuna stared back at her teary eyed. "But I'm all alone," she whimpered. "I just wanted to have some f-fun!"

"Those fake tears aren't going to work on me Asuna," Chisame replied dryly. "I'm serious; they're not going to work."

* * *

"How in the hell did I get myself into this?" Chisame muttered.

Chisame looked at her companion who was strolling happily alongside her. The redhead seemed particularly happy and bouncy today. Though she also seemed to be a little nervous. The two girls made their way down towards the movie theater. Chisame let Asuna do all the talking and barely listened to her. She was wondering why Asuna would suddenly invite her to see a movie, she never did that before. Chisame smiled and glanced over at Asuna. Ever since the day Asuna came to see her, Chisame had been thinking about her incessantly. Asuna was there for her when no one else was. Even her own parents didn't care enough to call and talk to her. Asuna had actually been able to make her feel better and since then she felt happy around the spunky girl. It was a strange feeling that she never got before.

"Chisame-chan?"

Chisame jumped and turned to Asuna. "What?" She asked in confusion.

"I asked what movie you wanted to see. Are you okay?" Asuna moved closer to looked I her eyes.

"Of course I am!" Chisame snapped. She jumped back and shook her head. "I-I don't really care what movie we see." Her cheeks started to heat up and she knew she was blushing.

"You must have some kind of preference."

Chisame groaned. If she didn't say something Asuna was just going to keep bothering him. "I like horror movies."

Asuna paled and shook her head. "N-no horror movies. I don't like horror movies. I-I was hoping that you might want to see the new romance movie that came out." Asuna smacked herself in the head. Could she be any more transparent?

"I am not seeing a romantic movie with you Kagurazaka! We should both just go and see the movie that we want."

"I don't want to watch a movie on my own. That's why I asked you to come along. Please!"

"No!"

"Pllleeeaase!" She begged again.

"…"

'_Damn, I hate her.' _Chisame thought, staring at the screen in front of her.

She had folded again and was watching a romance movie with Asuna. For the past hour it had been full of nothing but mush. Chisame had actually wanted to reach into the screen and beat down the guy. Both a woman and a man were on screen, crying into each others arms. One of them was dying, or going away or something, she wasn't really paying any attention. Chisame looked at Asuna and saw her crying silently.

'_I_ _never would have thought her the type to cry over a movie,' _Chisame thought in surprise. _'She's full of surprises. Oh well, at least she's enjoying it. I owe her after I depressed her the other day. I never realized how pretty she looks.' _Chisame allowed herself a small smile.

"Something wrong Chisame-chan."

Chisame looked up and saw Asuna staring at her. It was then that she realized she had been checking Asuna out. Chisame thanked god that it was dark in the movie theatre. Her entire face must have been as red as a tomato by know. She muttered that nothing was wrong and sat back in her seat. The movie lasted for another 45 minutes before Chisame was granted freedom. As soon as the credits began to roll she left, pulling Asuna with her. They stood just outside and watched the other movie goers walk into the lobby.

"Wasn't that a sad movie?" Asuna asked. She wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve.

"…Yeah," Chisame said offhandedly. She didn't want to admit that she had actually been paying attention to the movie. "You owe me a horror movie."

A small squeak escaped Asuna's lips but she nodded all the same. "O-okay. Wh-what should we do now?" A growling sound came from Asuna's stomach. She blushed and laughed nervously.

"Judging from the sound in your stomach, I would guess lunch."

Asuna grinned at her. "Good! Just let me go freshen up for a minute." She waved and ran into the bathroom.

Chisame sighed and looked down at the ground. When Asuna smiled at her, she felt her entire body heat up. It was like Asuna had the natural ability to always cheer her up when she was upset. Why was that so? Asuna shouldn't have that affect on her unless she was…

"Excuse me?"

Chisame looked up and saw a guy standing in front of her. _'Crap!'_ It was rare that guys approached her like this. But when they did it would always involve some lame pick-up line that annoyed her. Even though the guy was cute she wished that he would go away.

"You look really familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?" He asked.

'_And there's the line! Though since I am the #1 net idol in Japan he could very well know me.' _"Sorry I don't think that you do." She used a cool tone of voice and turned her head to the side. It was her way of showing that she wasn't interested.

The guy didn't seem to take the hint. "Too bad. I thought you really did look familiar. Anyways, my friend and I are going to go for some coffee. You want to join us."

So the guy was either dumb or stubborn. Still, he seemed nice and Chisame hated to crush him, but it was probably the only way he was going to take the hint. Just as she was about to say something she felt an arm loop through hers. She turned her head and saw Asuna smiling back at her. There was something else in the redhead's eyes though. Possessiveness?

"Are you ready to go, sweetie?" Asuna asked, giving her a broad smile.

"Um I-I-I wh-what are…" Chisame stammered. Her face might as well have been lit up like a red neon sign by now.

The guy held up his hands in apology. "Whoa! Sorry I didn't know she was your girlfriend."

"Don't worry about it." Asuna smiled.

Chisame waited for the guy to leave and then rounded on Asuna. "Wha-what the…hell was that?!" She cried.

Asuna looked at Chisame shyly. "W-well I thought that you wanted to get rid of that guy. So I pretended to be your girlfriend." Her cheeks turned a little pink. "Did-did you not want me to?"

Chisame couldn't think of a coherent reply. All she got out was, "Food…let's get." Then she stalked off. Asuna followed after her, thinking that maybe she made the brunette angry. Little did they know they were being watched very closely.

* * *

"Are you guys sure that your okay?" Konoka asked.

After their training; Negi and the others were walking around town. He promised that he would treat them to lunch for doing so well. Konoka was busy worrying about the effect that the training had on Ku Fei and the others. Ku Fei, Yue, Haruna, and Nodoka felt horrible after their training. They had managed to disarm him, but afterwards they received a thorough trouncing from their master. Negi walked at the front of the group with Kotarou, Evangeline and Tsukuyomi. Everyone else was in the back keeping and eye on their shaky legged friends.

"Did you have to be so rough on them?" Kotarou asked.

"That's odd coming from someone who values power," Tsukuyomi replied.

Kotarou glared at the blond. "I do value power. But I think you could have gone easier on them. They are just beginners."

"Treating them tough is how beginners better," Evangeline smirked at Kotarou. "Isn't that right bouya?"

Negi nodded grimly. "She's right Kotarou-kun. I had to set them straight."

**Flashback**

Negi stared up at his students from the ground. Through a clever combination of Ku Fei's shield and Yue and Nodoka's disarm spells they had managed to beat him. Negi smiled back at them proudly. They were happy with their victory as they should be.

Evangeline scoffed and smacked Negi in the back of the head. "Baka bouya! You took it easy on them! If you do that then they'll never learn!"

"Eva-san, they are just beginners and it is a practice," Setsuna replied.

"That's no excuse. A master shouldn't coddle their students. I don't do it and I can damn sure tell you that Albireo doesn't either. Say what I might about him, he is a real crucial trainer."

Negi sighed and shook his head. "I don't want to be like that."

"But what if this training makes them ill prepared?" Chachamaru asked.

Ku Fei laughed and smirked at Evangeline. "I think she's just mad that her training didn't really pay off."

Negi stared back at Ku Fei in surprise. She never got a big head like that before. If she and the other girls got cocky with their magic skills they could get hurt. Negi had to set them straight. He didn't want them to make the same mistakes that nearly cost him his life several times over. Like Chachazero said, 'Tough love can save lives.' Negi stood up and smiled deviously at the girls.

"So you girls think you got off a victory. How do you know it wasn't a fluke?" The girls only responded with cocky grins. Even Nodoka looked more confident in herself. "Why don't we go again? This time I don't want you to hold back."

Ku Fei's eyes lit up at the thought of a challenge. "It's a challenge? Then we accept."

"K-Ku Fei-san," Nodoka said nervously.

"Don't worry. We just have to do the same thing as before."

Haruna smiled and walked up behind Negi. "Let me get in on this!"

"Alright! I'll even let you guys set the pace."

Negi waited for them to make the first move. There was a loud roar, Negi turned around to see two black tigers with purple stripes rushing at him. Ku Fei leapt high into the air and came at him from above. "Deflexio!" Ku Fei and the tigers smashed helplessly into the shield of wind. Negi swiped his hands to the side and small bursts of wind launched the attackers into the air.

"Fulgeriens!"

"Venti!"

Yue and Nodoka raised there wands to attack but their arms suddenly felt like led. Some kind of invisible force was weighing them down. Negi shifted his weight lower and struck out behind him with his left leg. He kicked the attacking tigers into a tree, making them disappear.

"Sagitta Magica: conver-gentia fulguralis!"

Ku Fei rushed him head on and looked a little surprised when the spell didn't form. She tried to turn the failed spell into a kick but it was too late. Negi put his knee up to cancel out Ku Fei's kick; he made a downward motion with his right hand and she found herself pinned to the ground. Just behind Negi a kappa was about to pounce at him. He lifted his left hand and a fireball fired from his palm with tremendous force. The fireball struck the kappa destroying it completely. When the smoke cleared all four girls were struggling to get to their feet.

Negi shook his head in disappointment. "Have you all learned your lesson? One tactic may not work all of the time. More importantly, you underestimated an enemy. You should no better than to get cocky." He stared down at Ku Fei. She looked humiliated and ashamed of herself at the same time. "Haruna-san lasted the longest. She was supposed to be your support and she wasn't even protected. If this was a real fight you would be dead."

**End Flashback**

Negi glanced back at the girls. Ku Fei hadn't said so much as a word to him since the training session. She was either mad at him or too embarrassed to say anything. He would have to have a talk to her about it later. He knew she had a competitive side. This cocky attitude would have to go if she wanted to get good at magic. More importantly, if she wanted to stay safe.

"Hey! Isn't that Madoka-san, Sakurako-san and Misa-san?" Konoka asked.

Negi looked ahead and saw the three girls hiding behind a trashcan. While most of the heads were turned he quickly changed back into a ten year old. "I wonder what they're doing."

"Probably being their nosy selves," Haruna replied. She was walking at an awkward angle due to the spell Negi put on them earlier.

"Like your one to talk," Yue said in her monotone.

Negi walked up to them with Kotarou. "What are you nee-chans doing?" Kotarou asked.

Sakurako turned around and smiled. "Negi-kun, Kotarou-kun, we-we're not doing anything."

"You guys are spying on someone," Evangeline stated.

"Shh! I'm trying to watch this," Misa whispered harshly.

"Watch what?" Negi peeked over the trashcan. Asuna and Chisame were eating at an outside café. Asuna kept leaning over the table and 'accidentally' touching Chisame's hand. "So you guys are spying on them? They're just eating lunch."

"No," Madoka replied. "This is a secret date. We saw them come out of a romance movie together and now they're eating lunch together."

"Or they could just be hanging out," Setsuna replied.

Tsukuyomi giggled. "I think that they make a cute couple."

Kaede shook her head. "I'm not so sure that Asuna would go out on a date with Chisame-dono."

"Yeah, I mean wasn't she in love with Takamichi-san?" Kotarou asked.

"It stands to reason that her feelings would change after being rejected," Chachamaru replied.

"Of course!" Kamo whispered. "Spurned by the man she love she falls into the arms of the silent lonely girl." He had that dirty old man look on his face again.

"If you love someone shouldn't it take longer to rebound?" Kotarou wondered aloud.

"Like someone with your views on love can talk," Yue muttered.

"For someone whose still wearing my jacket you're acting rather rude." Kotarou turned and smirked at her.

Yue looked down and blushed slightly. She had changed her clothes after training but forgot to take the jacket off. Instead of saying anything she turned her back on Kotarou.

"Come on guys lets leave them alone. It's none of our business anyways." Konoka shooed the cheerleaders away from the trashcan.

"We might as well go and do some Karaoke," Misa said sadly.

"Come on Negi-kun!" Sakurako called.

"Coming!" He turned around and looked at Asuna one last time. "Good luck Asuna-san."

* * *

"EEEP!" Asuna jumped and buried her face in a pillow.

"Come on Asuna-san, stop being such a baby."

The two girls had finally made their way back to the Asuna's dorm room after a long day of hanging out in the city. True to her word, Asuna agreed to watch a horror movie with Chisame. Also true her to her word; she did not like horror movies. She spent most of the movie with her face buried in a pillow. Chisame stared at her in disgust.

"How can you act like this? You fight real life demons on a daily basis!"

Asuna peered cautiously over her pillow. "Horror movies are different," she stated defensively.

"I really don't get you," Chisame said. She gave Asuna an almost soft smile.

There was a particularly gory explosion when a man's chest exploded. Asuna jumped and grabbed onto Chisame's arm. Chisame blushed and looked at Asuna. The redhead had her face buried in her arm. "How can you watch that?" She asked trembling. "Aren't you scared at all?"

Chisame felt her heart skip a beat or two. That scared her more than any movie ever could. She placed a comforting arm around Asuna and nodded. "Terrified. But it can make everything right," she whispered.

Asuna looked at her curiously and then nestled her head back into Chisame's arm. She felt so safe in the brunette's arms. She had to admit it now. She was having feelings for Chisame that she shouldn't be having. And there was only one thing that could make it right.

* * *

"I still say we should have stayed longer," Konoka replied.

Tsukuyomi nodded. "It was still light outside when we left."

Negi smiled and pulled out his keys. They had spent the entire day out and around the city campus. "I'm glad to be back home. I'm tired and I still think that Ku-chan is mad at me."

Setsuna smiled at him. "Don't worry. She's just a little embarrassed after what happened. She'll get over it."

Negi opened the door and they stepped inside of the apartment. They stopped in the doorway and stared at the scene before them. A horror movie was playing on the T.V. and on the couch were Asuna and Chisame. Asuna was lying down on the couch with her head resting on a pillow. Chisame was lying down behind her and had her arm draped protectively over the redhead. Chisame wasn't wearing her glasses and looked extra cute when she was sleeping.

"Awwwww!" Konoka gushed. "They do look like a cute couple."

"Wow," Setsuna gasped. "Maybe the cheerleaders were right."

Tsukuyomi nodded. "Told you." She turned off the T.V. and looked at Negi. "Should we wake them up?"

Kamo shook his head. For once he didn't have a perverted comment. He smiled softly, it could wait until tomorrow. "Nah. Let them sleep for now."

Negi used his magic to levitate a blanket onto the girls. Negi looked at Asuna's happy face and smiled. If this was what he thought it was, then it was the cutest thing he had ever seen. He wished that the girls would be happy no matter what. "Goodnight. I hope that you both find what you are after. Even if it's only in your dreams," he whispered so the others couldn't hear.

**End Chapter**

**Well that's the end of that chapter. Sorry if it wasn't up to par. I've been up all day and I'm exhausted. Hit the review button and I'll see you all next time!**


	12. Chapter 12: Demons Bolero

**Thank you everyone for reviewing my story. Without reviews I'm kind a lost at sea. Anyways the last couple of chapters have given the characters some downtime. So for this chapter we're going to take it up a notch.**

**Me: Chachazero-chan, can you read the disclaimer.**

**Chachazero: I have to go and strangle that bunny!**

**Me: Disclaimer first. I'll let you cut off some heads if you do.**

**Chachazero: Yeah! Mako does not own Negima! Can I go strangle bunny now?**

**Me: Knock yourself out kid. (Damn she's got problems!)**

**Chachazero: What?! (Pulls out blades)**

**Me: (Screams like little girl.)

* * *

**

**CHAPTER 12: Demons Bolero**

"I'm just saying that you guys looked cute is all," Kamo said.

"I said for you to shut it!"

Negi laughed and pulled his cup in front of his face to cover it up. Ever since they had caught Asuna and Chisame on the couch last night Kamo had been relentless in his teasing. Luckily for him Chisame had managed to sneak out before everyone woke up. To make matters worse for the redhead she also had to deal with Tsukuyomi as well. The smaller blond had been even worse than Kamo. Konoka didn't help matters any by saying that they would make a cute couple. It seemed like the only one who wasn't teasing her was Setsuna and of course Negi. Though neither of them made a move to even try and help her. In fact they were enjoying the torture that was being put on their friend.

Negi shook his head as Tsukuyomi made a rather crude joke. To be honest he was a little distracted to pay attention to Asuna's dilemma. He tried to call Ku Fei this morning and she didn't pick up the phone. He didn't want her to stay mad at him. He had to talk to her and explain why he did what he did yesterday.

"Negi-sensei?" Negi looked up into Setsuna's big brown eyes. "What's bothering you?"

Negi sighed and looked at Setsuna. "Nothing really."

"You're worried about Ku being mad at you aren't you?"

"You're just too good at reading people," he laughed. "I guess I am kinda. She didn't really talk to me much after training yesterday."

"I think she was just embarrassed about getting so cocky. If you really want to talk to her, she's up at the training grounds."

"Yeah, I think I'll go and talk to her. I want to get this done with before we go for training. Thanks." Negi stood up and pulled his coat off the rack. "Asuna-san-"

"I do not like her!" Asuna cried.

Negi jumped back and held up his hands. "I was just gonna ask if you wanted to train with us today."

Asuna blushed from her outburst and rubbed the back of her head. "Y-yeah sure."

"Good, I'll see you there!" Negi turned around, his long coat swishing out behind him. He left the room and pulled the door closed behind him.

"You aren't going with him Kamo-kun?" Tsukuyomi asked.

The ermine shook his head. "I've had this theory ever since the tournament. I want to see how close I am." He shared a look with Setsuna. If Kamo wasn't mistaken then she knew something.

"Well then you can come with us when we go for training. Right Asuna-san?"

Asuna looked at Setsuna then glared at Kamo. "Sure. If he really wants to risk it." Asuna stood up from the table and walked towards the bathroom.

"Are you coming to?" Setsuna asked Tsukuyomi.

Tsukuyomi shook her head. "I have patrol today and tomorrow."

"When are you going to take me on patrol Secchan?!" Konoka asked. She had been trying to get Setsuna to take her forever. She started to pick up the plates from the table.

Setsuna shook her head. "I told you I can't take you on patrols with me Ojou-sama. It's too dangerous; I can't put you in danger."

"But Secchan…"

"I'm not going to change my mind. It's too dangerous for you," she said in a tone of finality.

Konoka put the plates down and stood up straight. "Fine. Then I'll just have to go with Tsu-chan." She dipped down and put her arms around Tsukuyomi.

Tsukuyomi blushed and looked back and forth between the two girls. Kamo knew that Konoka was trying to make Setsuna jealous and it appeared to be working. This was fun for the ermine. Sort of like watching one of those daytime soap operas.

Tsukuyomi shivered slightly under Setsuna's glare. Although, that glared did look kind of cute in her opinion. "Sorry Konoka-Ojou-sama. If Setsuna-senpai doesn't think that it's a good idea, then we shouldn't do it."

Konoka face fell. She thought for sure that Tsukuyomi would say yes. "I'm glad that you agree with me," Setsuna replied. She picked up her plate and walked into the kitchen to wash it.

"Ojou-sama?" Konoka looked up from collecting the plates and smiled thinly at Tsukuyomi. "If you want to ditch the Fortune Telling Club and come on patrol with me, you can," she whispered.

"Really?!" Konoka whispered excitedly.

"Just don't tell senpai. You either ermine."

Kamo didn't even look up from his tea and said, "Tell her what?"

Tsukuyomi smiled. "Meet me at the fountain when you are ready to go." She picked up her pink cloak and hurried from the room.

* * *

Ku Fei sighed and lowered her head. She had been up here in the ruins, practicing the same spell over and over. Training magic arrows to fire on a single target was harder than it looked. After she tried the spell yesterday she had become obsessed with it. How come she couldn't get this spell right? Especially yesterday when it really counted. Giving up for a second, she sat down on one of the walls. In all honesty her loss yesterday was all her fault. No matter how much she wanted to blame it on Negi, she knew that he couldn't.

'_I was stupid to get so cocky,'_ she thought angrily. _'I should have known that we couldn't beat him in a straight fight. Still, did that jerk didn't have grind us into the ground like that.' _She stood up and rotated her left shoulder; it was still a little sore. _'I have to keep practicing this spell. I'll show him!'_

Ku Fei concentrated on the target she had marked on the opposite wall. She gave her wand a wave and muttered her key release. She focused the energy into her wand for the attack. "Sagitta Magica Converg-entia Fulguralis!"

Just like yesterday the attack faded into nothing. Ku Fei's shoulders drooped and she shook her head. For some reason she just couldn't get this right. "You know you're doing it wrong. I can give you some pointers before the others she up for training."

Ku Fei turned around and saw Negi sitting on the wall she had been on earlier. She hadn't even sensed him coming. He looked much like he did yesterday. Accept he was wearing dark blue shirt today. Negi gave her a charming smile and she had to turn away to hide the blush.

"Don't you mean before you clobber us again?" She asked, trying to sound annoyed.

Negi smirked and hopped off of the wall. "Come on Ku-chan. The only reason I did that was to teach you a lesson. I didn't want you to get so cocky. That's how you get hurt. I believe my martial arts instructor taught me that."

Ku Fei crossed her arms over her chest. She did tell him that and on more than one occasion to. Again, she knew that he was right. "Okay, but you didn't have to be so rough on the others."

Negi walked in front of her and knelt down. "I'm sorry. Forgive me?" He asked. He gave her a sad looking pout.

'_Guys should not look that cute while doing a pout!' _Ku Fei sighed and blew a strand of hair from her face. "I guess. It wasn't your fault. You just did what you thought best."

Negi smiled and got back to his feet. Now she had to look up to see his face. "Now, do you want some help with that spell?"

"I-I guess."

"Good. I'm glad you're not mad at me by the way."

"It was my fault for getting cocky."

Negi nodded. "I guess that's true."

Ku Fei punched him playfully in the arm. "Are you gonna help me or not?"

"I don't know if I can. I think you hurt me pretty badly." He rubbed his arm jokingly.

"Like that hurt! Baby!"

Negi chuckled. "Okay. First things first. You're saying the spell wrong. You're saying Converg-entia. You have to say it as one word. Convergentia! Like that. Your next problem is your punch."

"My punch?" She asked curiously. She punched her wand hand forward, twisting her wrist slightly.

"No see here's how you have to do it." He sidled up behind her. He put his arms around her and placed his hands on her forearms. He gently ran his hands down her arms and placed his hands over hers. Ku Fei leaned back into Negi. Negi placed his head next to hers and began to give instructions. "Before you punch, imagine all of the arrows going to one target. Then when you punch don't add any Hakkyoku-ken influence. Just a straight punch."

Ku Fei let him guide her through the movement. Her face started to heat up and it was hard to keep the blush out of her cheeks. "Just a straight punch. What else?"

"That's it. Your hand might feel tingly after the attack because of all the focused energy."

Ku Fei leaned back and placed her head against his shoulder. She looked up at Negi with wide, slightly fearful eyes. "Tingly?"

Negi looked down at her and nodded. "Yeah…a bit tingly." Negi started to lean in toward Ku Fei, his eyes fluttering closed. Ku Fei did the same but she couldn't see Negi because her eyes were closed. Their lips were so close to touching only centimeters apart.

"OI NEGI!"

Negi and Ku Fei leapt away from one another, blushing furiously. "Bloody hell!" Negi growled, some of his accent coming in.

Asuna ran up to them looking cheerful. "Were here!" She announced unnecessarily. "Wh-what's up with you two? You both look red as tomatoes."

"Why d'you show up?!" Ku Fei cried angrily. She turned around and started going off in Chinese.

"What's up with captain Fei?" Kotarou asked. He walked up to them looking a little bewildered.

Negi shook his head and blushed. "Nothing." Too bad the cute act worked better when he looked like a ten year old.

"Are you sure?" Haruna asked. She walked up behind Kotarou with the others at her side. "Because I smell 'LOVE REEK!" She cried pointing in their direction.

"You do not!" Negi and Ku Fei cried.

"I don't like her!" Asuna cried.

For a second the others just stared at Asuna. "Actually I think she was talking to them Ane-san." Kamo smirked at her.

Asuna blushed and tried to stammer out an excuse. Luckily Yue came to their rescue. "Don't worry about her." She pulled Haruna to the side. "She's always like that!"

"Anyways," Negi managed to force most of the blush from his cheeks. "Where's Kaede-san?"

Kotarou snapped his fingers. "That's what I meant to tell you. She said she was sick, so she's not going to be able to make it. The principal gave me a call and told me about a breach in the perimeter. And since Kaede-nee-chan isn't here I thought I might as well go and check it out."

"Are you going to be okay on your own?" Nodoka asked.

"Don't worry nee-chan I'll be fine!" Kotarou replied, shaking his hand. "It's probably some more sprites." He turned around and ran for the forest.

"Give us a call if you need back-up!" Negi called after him. Kotarou waved a hand at him before disappearing into the woods.

"I guess that we should get started," Setsuna replied. "But first." Setsuna took out a piece of paper and used her ki to transform it. When the smoke cleared a smaller version of Setsuna appeared. "Chibi-Setsuna, I need you to do me a favor."

"You got it!" Chibi-Setsuna saluted. She started to fly off before Setsuna said anything.

"Wait! I need to tell you what to do!" The chibi stopped and rubbed the back of her head. "Follow Kotarou-san for me. Make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

"No problem!" She started to fly off in the wrong direction.

"Other way!"

"Right!"

"…That girl is going to give me a heart attack one day," Setsuna said regretfully.

"But she's so kawaii," Asuna giggled.

Negi smiled. "Ku-chan, we need to get started." Ku Fei stopped her rant and walked over to him shyly. "I want you to practice on that Sagitta Magica Convergentia." She blushed and walked away from him. "I want Yue-san and Nodoka-san to practice the shield spells. Haruna–san, practice with them. Use your artifact against them."

Haruna's face lit up evilly. "No problem Negi-kun."

"What are you going to do?" Asuna asked.

"In my left hand is Fatalis." His black short sword appeared in his left hand. In the other hand was his curved dragon sword. "And in my right is Thanatos. I want to practice my sword skills."

"Is that so nii-san?" Setsuna asked. She drew Yuunagi from it's sheathe and pointed it at Negi. "Then we shall be your opponents. Right Asuna-san?"

Asuna pulled her Pactio card from her jacket pocket and held it straight out. "Hope your ready Negi?"

Negi held Thanatos out and rested Fatalis on his shoulder. "En Garde."

* * *

"Where are we going exactly?" Konoka asked.

Tsukuyomi smiled at the taller girl. "Evangeline-san reported a breach in the perimeter. It's probably nothing but we still have to check it out."

Konoka nodded She hopped over a root sticking out of the ground. She rarely went into the forests that surrounded the school. When she did it was usually to go to Evangeline's cottage or to the training grounds. Even then she only went when she was with the others. The forests were so dense that they blocked out most of the sunlight and the woods looked a little to creepy. Konoka shook her head dismissively. She didn't have to worry about being in too much danger. Like Tsukuyomi said, it was probably no big deal. Besides, she had a Shinmeiryuu swordsman with her. Nothing would happen to her.

Tsukuyomi stopped and Konoka bumped into her. "Sorry!" The brunette apologized.

"No, it's okay." Tsukuyomi turned around and glanced at Konoka almost curiously. "Why did you want to come out on patrol with me Ojou-sama? It's pretty boring most of the time."

Konoka put her finger to her chin in thought. "Well, I just wanted to see what it was like, at least once. But Secchan would never take me along. She always said that it was too dangerous. I care about her a lot," Konoka's voice became softer than usual, "but she treats me like a child. Maybe, maybe she thinks that I'll be a nuisance," she said sadly.

Tsukuyomi shook her head. "She just worries about you. Sometimes her feelings get in the way and she can't really allow herself to lighten up."

"What about you."

"I'm not as strict as senpai," the blond giggled. "Remember that I promised I would protect you till the day my sword breaks?" Konoka nodded. "Well I meant it."

"Arigatou Tsu-chan! Um, by the way, what are the names of your swords?"

"Their names?" She asked, continuing deeper into the woods.

"Mn. Secchan named hers Yuunagi. What do you call yours?" Konoka tripped on a root and fell forward with a short scream. The impact was much softer than the one she was expecting.

"Are you okay?"

Konoka looked up and found herself staring into pale blue orbs. She realized why her impact was so soft. Tsukuyomi had caught her and her face landed into the younger girl's chest. Konoka blushed and tried to stammer out an apology. Before she could she felt her feet being lifted from the ground. Tsukuyomi lifted her into the air and was holding her. Konoka blushed and stared up at the bespectacled face.

'_For such a small girl, she's really strong. Just like Secchan.' _"Y-you don't have to carry me," she protested, though she liked the feel of the strong arms. "I'm too heavy."

"Nonsense," Tsukuyomi chuckled. "You're actually quite light." Konoka blushed and placed her hand on Tsukuyomi's shoulder. "It's Sakura by the way. The name of my short sword."

"Sakura? That's kawaii. Why did you name it that?"

Tsukuyomi carefully stepped over another fallen branch. "Because of the flowers on the hilt. It was also the name of my first master."

"First master?"

"She died when I was still very young."

"I'm so sorry!" She replied earnestly.

"Don't worry about it. Sometimes I forget she even existed." Konoka made a noise of strangled surprise and Tsukuyomi decided to change the topic. "The name of my sword is Hateshi."

Konoka didn't say anything. Tsukuyomi continued to carry her friend in total silence. Eventually they reached a clearing in the middle of the forest. Sunlight shone brightly down into the clearing. The grass was greener than most of the grass in the forest. The only thing in the clearing was a large wooden stump near the middle. Tsukuyomi walked over to the stump and gently set Konoka down on it. She kneeled down and placed a hand on the brunette's knee.

"I have to go and check up ahead. I want you to stay here." She reached inside of her cloak and pulled out two Onmyou paper forms. "Charm-san. Charm-san. Please protect Ojou-sama."

Tsukuyomi tossed the paper forms up in the air. They fluttered in the breeze for a moment before turning into puffs of smoke. When the smoke cleared, two large bears emerged. Their fur was as black as night and their eyes were yellow.

"Don't worry Ojou-sama, they won't hurt you. Go ahead and pet one if you want." She gave Konoka an encouraging smile.

Konoka reached out timidly and touched one of the bears fur. She squealed in delight and began to pet them both vigorously. "They feel so real."

"That's Onmyou for you. Okay, you two protect Ojou-sama for me," she ordered. The two bears gave small growls of affirmation.

"I hate it when people call me Ojou-sama. Can you call me Konoka or Kono-chan please?"

"I-I can't. It wouldn't be right."

"Can you just try? For me?"

Tsukuyomi nodded and hurried off into the forest. She had only been walking for a few minutes before she stopped and leaned against a tree. _'Baka!' _Her mind cried. _'What are you doing?! She's just another job! I've let myself get too close to them. Negi-sensei and Kamo-kun. Setsuna-senpai, Ojou-sama; even that baka Asuna is starting grow on me. I have to be more careful from now on.'_

Tsukuyomi stood up straight. She fixed her glasses and smoothed out her cloak. Just as she was about to continue on a scream filled the air. Tsukuyomi's face paled and her blood ran cold. "Ojou-sama!" She drew Hateshi and Sakura and took off back through the woods. Tree branches whipped at her face and cut her delicate skin. She didn't care; her connection with the Onmyou told her that Konoka was in danger. When she reached the clearing she couldn't believe her eyes.

Several dog like creatures littered the clearing. They were all black; about 1meter tall and 2 ½ meters wide. The creatures had huge muscular legs that looked as though they could crush steel. At the end of the legs were feet with long sharp claws. Their heads, an odd square shape were uglier than anything Tsukuyomi had ever seen. On top of their heads was hair. To be more accurate they looked like the snakes on Medusa. They were pretty long at around two feet. The tentacles also looked rather sharp. Standing back near the other end of the clearing was Konoka. She was holding her arm and she was shaking badly. She looked scared out of her mind. The only things keeping the demons back were the growling Onmyou.

Finally one of the beasts leapt over the bears and dashed at Konoka. Tsukuyomi focused her chi and leapt into action. Just as the demon was leaping into the air she brought her sword down; severing the demons head from its body.

"Ojou-sama your hurt!" Tsukuyomi rushed to her side to inspect the bleeding arm.

"Look out!" Konoka cried.

Tsukuyomi turned around just in time to see one of the demons jump at her. The bear on the left swung its massive paw, knocking the creature out of the air. The other bear pounced on top of it and finished it off.

"Ojou-sama, stay here! Keep an eye on her." The bears immediately got into the front and back of Konoka. Tsukuyomi focused her chi and jumped into the throng of enemies. "Shinmei Style Secret Technique: Hyakuretsuokazan!"

Tsukuyomi spun her blades in a series of blinding flashes cutting down all of the demons in her path. She back flipped high into the air bringing her swords down, piercing the remaining demons skull. She pulled her blade from the creatures head with a sick sloshing sound. Tsukuyomi turned around and ran back to Konoka.

"Are you okay Ojou-sama?"

"It's just a couple of scratches," she replied. She let Tsukuyomi check her arm. "Y-you were amazing Tsu-chan!"

The Shinmeiryuu shook her head, blushing slightly. "It was just a basic technique." Her eyes widened and she turned around. All of the demons bodies were shaking. All of the limbs that they lost were starting to grow back. "Dammit! They can regenerate!" One of the creatures tackled her to the ground. She kneed the beast and rolled it off of her. "Ojou-sama get out of here!" She jumped back to her feet.

"But…"

"Please! Go and get Negi-sensei, I can handle this! You two go with Kono-chan!"

Konoka didn't know whether it was the use of her nickname or Tsukuyomi's confidence that made her agree. Whatever it was it made her want to obey the girl. "B-be careful!" The bears ushered her into the woods, running after her.

One of the creatures tried to follow but Tsukuyomi knocked it to the side. "Come on. I've needed a good fight since I got here!" She leapt into the group of creatures swinging her swords.

* * *

"Man I knew it was nothing," Kotarou griped.

The hanyo followed a trail to where the breach was supposed to be. He didn't find anything, not even some lousy sprites. He found himself in the middle of small dirt clearing. Trees blocked any sunlight from getting to the area, making it hard to see in. He sighed tiredly. If he stayed at the training grounds he would have at least gotten to do something. He was about to head back when there came a rustling sound from behind him. He drew his knives and waited. A second later a figure emerged from the bushes.

Kotarou stopped himself from throwing the knives. In front of him was a young woman. She had a shapely figure, long black hair and coal black eyes. She was wearing a school uniform, probably from the high school. She was wearing a black jacket and a black skull cap. She stared back at Kotarou with wide and frightened eyes. It was then that he noticed she was shaking.

"Are you okay nee-chan?" He asked carefully. He lowered his knives and stepped cautiously towards her.

"N-no! G-get away from me!" She cried.

"Don't worry! I won't hurt you!" He put the knives back inside of his jacket. "See! What are you doing all of the way out here nee-chan?" He gave her a friendly smile.

"I-I was out walking. And-and before I knew it this…demon attacked me!"

"Really?! Where are they?!"

"You believe me! Will you help me? It was right behind me!"

Kotarou ran to her side and positioned her behind him. "Where is it? I don't see anything."

"Oh it's closer than you think."

Kotarou turned around. A strong blow to the chin flung him into the air. He collided painfully with a tree and fell to the ground. Kotarou held his head and got up onto one knee. "Pretty good hit for a high school girl." He grinned wolfishly and stumbled to his feet.

The girl smirked viciously at him. "So you finally figured it out then?' She broke into a high pitched laugh. "Well it took you long enough."

Kotarou bristled angrily but kept his calm. "I guess you were the one that came in through the barrier? Who are you exactly?"

"You don't remember me Kotarou-kun?"

Kotarou's eyes widened. "How do you know my name?" He asked in surprise.

She cackled again. "It pains me that you don't remember me. I guess I'll have to show you." She held her hands out at her sides; her nails started to grow until they were sharp gnarled claws. "Shall we start?" She reached up and pulled off her hat.

"N-no way!"

* * *

"Zankuu-AAAHHHH!"

One of the monsters tentacles whipped Tsukuyomi, cutting her side open. She had been fighting for about ten minutes now and things were starting to look bad. Her clothes were torn and she was bleeding in several places. No matter how many times she would cut down an enemy they would just keep getting back up. On top of that she was starting to run out of chi. One of the monsters tackled her to the ground; she put her swords of her face to block the demons bite. Another one of the monsters appeared at her side. This is it. She was going to die and miss out on everything she had yet to experience. Her first party, her first kiss and her first love. But at least she would die the way she always wanted to. She would die doing her job, she would die fighting.

'_Sorry senpai, Negi-sensei, Ojou-sama, looks like I let you all down.'_

Tsukuyomi opened her eyes and saw the creature get closer to her. Just as the creature lunged at her it was blown away by a ray of light. The creature on top of her was cleaved in two. She looked and saw Negi and Setsuna standing over her. An overwhelming gamut of emotions ran through her at that moment. She was angry at having to be rescued; and giddy at being the damsel in distress and being saved by her knights. Setsuna helped her to her feet.

"What the hell are these things?!" Negi asked.

There was the sound of gunshots and two more of the demons were blown away. "Fight now ask later!" Mana appeared from the bushes with Ku Fei, Asuna, Konoka and the bears on her heels.

The bears clashed hard with the demons and the real battle began.

* * *

Kotarou dodged another punch and was kicked hard in the stomach. He leapt back, breathing hard and clutching his chest. _'She's really pushing the limits of my no hitting girls policy!' _His cell phone began to ring. He pulled it out and flicked it open while dodging some knives aimed at his head. "Hello! Sorry Negi I got my own problems! I'll call you back!" He hung up the phone and faced the girl in front of him. "Listen um?"

"Mizuho," she replied.

"Right, Mizuho I don't know who you are but I really hate to hit girls. Even if they are strong."

"Then you will lose."

Kotarou flinched at the coldness in her voice. _'Those claws are really sharp. My uniforms all torn up. And her ears are just like mine. Is she an Inugami user also?'_

"Kotarou-san!"

Kotarou turned around and saw a girl running to his side. She had long red hair worn up in buns on her head. She was dressed in a school uniform and a long black cloak. "Mei-chan what are you doing here?!"

"The principal felt you might need help. Who is she?" She asked, pointing at Mizuho.

Kotarou shook his head. "I have no idea. But you have to get out of here!"

"Aww isn't that cute," Mizuho taunted in a baby voice. "You really have changed Kotarou. But he's right little girl. If you don't leave now, you will get hurt."

"I-I don't know who you are! But if you've been fighting Kotarou-san then you must be bad." She threw off her cloak and pulled out her card.

"Very well then. Inugami!" Several of the black dog spirits shot out of Mizuho's hand.

"I knew it!" Kotarou jumped in front of Mei and raised his hand. Kotarou's own wolf spirits clashed with Mizuho's in mid air. "Shit!"

Two of the spirits made it around him and ran straight for Mei. "Adeat!" Mei swung her broom knocking the tow wolves into a tree, making them disappear.

"Nice shot nee-chan!"

"Hn. You dropped your guard."

Kotarou turned around and got hit in the chin with a hard uppercut. He pulled himself upright in the air and created several copies of himself. Kotarou hit the ground and sent his body doubles to attack Mizuho. The female yokai leapt over the clones and pulled some kunai from a pouch on her leg.

"Got ya! Fifteen Fang Blast!" He raised his fist and fired several blasts of energy at his enemy. The blasts hit Mizuho dead on and at first she looked surprised. Then her body started to flicker. "A clone!" Kotarou felt a hand on his chest and his eyes opened wide. He never even saw the move coming.

"Wolf Fang Barrage!"

A severe surge of energy poured out of Mizuho's hand. Kotarou screamed out in agony. The pain was almost overwhelming. It felt as though someone was burning him with an open flame and his chest had been caved in. Mizuho raked her claws across his face and kicked him in the chest. Kotarou fell to the ground and Mizuho stepped on his chest. She pulled out a knife and grinned sadistically at him.

Mei smacked down one of the bad Inugami and used a blast of fire to finish it off. Kotarou's cries of pain caught her attention and she turned to see what was going on.

"This is the end!" Mizuho cried. She lifted the knife to strike. Just as she was about to bring it down she had to jump out of the way to avoid a jet of flame. She growled and leapt up in the trees.

"Kotarou-san!"

"St-stop!" Mei stopped dead in her tracks. Kotarou looked up and she suddenly felt like crying. Blood covered his face and he was shaking badly. "She-she's i-in the trees." He stopped and looked around for her. A cry of pain caught his attention and he looked up.

Mei's entire face contorted in pain. Tears burned at her eyes, she had never felt anything like the burning pain in her arm. She reached down with a shaking hand and gripped the handle of the kunai. She gritted her teeth and pulled the knife from her arm. A whistling sound announced that more knives were on their way. Her mind screamed for her to move, but her body was stiff with fear. She raised her arms over her face, waiting for the inevitable. When nothing happened she opened her eyes. Kotarou looked down at her. He started to tremble and his legs gave out. He fell forward into Mei's arms.

"Kotarou-san!" She looked at his back and gasped in horror. At least six kunai were embedded into his back.

"Is that?" Mizuho asked in a mocking tone. She jumped down into the clearing. Her face was still as impassive as ever. "Is this your limit Kotarou?"

Kotarou's eyes opened wide. He looked Mei in the eyes and saw her fear. This wasn't his limit, it couldn't be. _"I hope to be around to see it Kotarou-kun." _Kotarou shook his head. He would show that Imma guy how strong he was and have his final match with Negi.

"I…I won't lose." He reached around his back with both hands and grabbed the kunai. Mei stared at him in shock and Mizuho's eyes narrowed slightly. "NOT HERE!" In one fluent motion he yanked the knives from his back, turned around and threw them. Mizuho surprised by the attack barely and time to dodge. Just as she did Kotarou used the last of his energy to do the Shundo. He delivered a sharp haymaker to Mizuho's face that knocked her to the ground several feet away. With the last of his energy gone he slumped to the ground.

"Kotarou-san!" Mei ran to his side still holding her arm. She knelt down beside him and lifted his head as best as she could. He was conscious but just barely. "Kotarou-san get up!"

"Ha! Ha! Not bad!" Mizuho got back to her feet; she seemed unfazed by the punch. "To be that injured and still pull that off. I'm impressed. But now you have to die."

She pulled out more knives and leapt at them. Without her broom and her arm injured Mei stood no chance. She covered as much of Kotarou's body as she could with her own. It was the least she could do.

"Barrier protect my friends!" A solid barrier appeared around Mei and Kotarou. Mizuho touched the barrier and received a nasty shock. She leapt back and looked at them in anger. "I did it! I did something right!"

Mei looked above her and saw what looked like a small fairy over her head. "Ch-chibi Set-Setsuna…" Kotarou breathed.

The chibi smiled brightly. "Yep! I came to help!"

Mizuho seemed furious. She couldn't get through that barrier any time soon. "Looks like your lives are spared for today. Till next time Kotarou." She leapt high into the trees and disappeared for good.

"You saved us!" Mei said to Chibi-Setsuna.

"I-I really did! Did you see Kotarou-san?!" Her large round eyes filled with tears. "Kotarou?"

Mei looked down and felt the tears building in her eyes again. Kotarou's eyes were shut. He had gone limp and he wasn't breathing anymore. "S-S-S-SOMEBODY! HELP ME!" She screamed. Her cry went unheard.

* * *

Negi swung Thanatos, cutting off another head. He looked around the field and shook his head. They weren't doing too well. Every time they killed an enemy it would suddenly regenerate. Only Asuna and her demon sword had managed to do any real damage. Tsukuyomi was barely able to stand now and Setsuna had to keep an eye on her. Konoka had managed her part; running in and healing someone when they needed it. Mana kept up the pace, refusing to let these demons get the better of her. Even Asuna and Ku Fei in their boundless energy were starting to wear out. What was worse was that he couldn't even use his stronger spells. His gravity magic would hurt the girls to and that other technique was definitely out of the question. Negi was so busy worrying about the others that he didn't notice the demon sneaking up behind him. The demon jumped at him but was blown out of the air by a beam of energy. He fell to the ground in his surprise.

"Are you okay man? What are these things?"

Negi took the proffered hand and let the man help him to his feet. "I owe you one. These are just…Gotokuji-san?!"

"Eh?" The pompadoured fighter looked at Negi. It took him a moment and then his eyes widened. "Wait! N-Negi-kun!"

"Not that I'm not grateful. But why are you here?!" Negi asked.

"Why the hell are you so tall?!" Before they could say anymore two of the creatures jumped at them. They both fired beams of energy from their fists and knocked the demons out of the air. "And what are these thing?!"

"I'll explain later!" Negi replied.

Gotokuji nodded. "Fair enough!" He turned around and saw several of the demons ganging up on Asuna. "May Law Fu Lau: Final Exceed Blast!" Several beams of chi shot from his hands, mowing down the demons. "Let's go."

Negi watched him do a Shundo and shoulder tackle one of the demons. "He's gotten better!" Negi fired a magic arrow at the nearest demon.

A demon slashed out with his claws, cutting open Ku Fei's shirt. She already had lots of cuts on her body and she could feel herself tiring out. There was no giving up now though. Her grandfather had always taught her that. She struck out with her leg and kicked the attacking demon off to the side. A second attacker blindsided her and knocked her to the ground. Ku Fei backed up against a tree and saw that the demon was right up in her face. It came so close that she could feel its putrid breath on her face. The demon reared up on its hind legs preparing to strike with its front claws. That's when she noticed it.

In the middle of the demon's stomach was a black carbuncle surrounded by strange red symbols. Using instinct she built up the chi in her legs and kicked out. Her foot hit the carbuncle, shattering it like glass. Some kind of black looking spirit floated out of the gem. The demon roared in pain and fell over. It twitched for a second before melting into a puddle of black goo. Ku Fei stared blankly at the demon for a second before realizing what happened.

"I-I killed one. I have to tell everyone."

"Sagitta Magica: una glacies!"

The attack struck Ku Fei in the shoulder, knocking her back into the tree. She felt a hand close around her throat and she was lifted off of the ground. She opened her eyes and saw a figure in a black cloak. His face was shrouded by a hood making his expression.

"We can't have that now can we?" He asked in a bone chilling voice. He reached into his coat and pulled out long rapier style blade.

Negi breathed heavily. "There's just no end to this!" He was being backed against a tree by at least a half-dozen of the creatures.

"**_Perhaps if you weren't so attached to your friends and used a more powerful spell it would,"_** said a mocking voice in his head.

"You could help you know!" Negi growled.

Kakos laughed. **_"Then you are weak if you need me for this. I hope this isn't as far as you can go. At least for her sake."_**

"Wha?" He looked up and saw exactly what Kakos was talking about. Ku Fei was about to die. The figure choking her had appeared out of nowhere. Now he was about to stab her with sword. "Fated Circle!"

Negi spun around, his blades releasing a wave of magic that cut down the enemies. "Don't be late!"

Ku Fei struggled helplessly in the mans grasp. This couldn't happen to her. Not now. Not when she was so close to, "…Negi."

The man pulled his sword back to stab her. A second before he could complete his thrust he felt something hit the arm holding Ku Fei. He was forced to drop her but stabbed anyways. A splash of blood decorated the front of his cloak. He smirked coldly and laughed.

"Well if it isn't the son of the Thousand Master? I've been looking forward to this moment." He twisted the sword into Negi's stomach forcing out a grunt of pain. "Not that special." He forced a surge of magic through his blade into Negi's body. "I'll enjoy killing you."

Without looking up Negi gripped the blade with his bare hands. The steel cut at his flesh and the magic burned. He slowly pulled the blade out from his stomach, much to the mages surprise. When he was all of the way out he lifted the blade, pulling the man into the air with him. He gave a mighty heave and threw the mage into the air. The strange man righted himself and landed on his feet. He sheathed his rapier and stood, calculating Negi.

"You lifted me with your own strength. Impressive," he whispered. "Hm?" A blackish aura started to appear around Negi. "I see. Your inner demon is starting to emerge. My job is done." With a swish of his cloak he vanished.

The aura faded around Negi and he collapsed to the ground. The surge of magic that passed through the blade must have caused some internal damage. Ku Fei crawled over to him on all fours. Her throat was burning from the air she had to gulp down. She crawled over and turned him over.

"Negi-kun?" She asked in a raspy tone. She turned him over so that she could see his face. His breathing was labored and he was losing consciousness quickly. "Why?" She asked.

He didn't say anything but only smiled. A second later Asuna, Konoka and Tsukuyomi were at their side. "Negi you baka!" Asuna cried.

"Asuna-san, Ojou-sama, take care of Negi-sensei."

"Where are you going?!"

"After him." Before they could stop her Tsukuyomi gave chase to the mage.

Ku Fei tearfully told Asuna how to defeat the demons while Konoka dealt with Negi's injuries. "This wasn't you fault." She patted Ku Fei on the shoulder and gave her a small smile. "Guys! Hit the gems on their stomachs!" She cried, jumping back into the fray.

"Gems?" Gotokuji turned around just in time to see one of the demons jump at him. He aimed for the black jewel and used his long reach ability to shatter it. The demon fell to the ground and shuttered before turning to goo. "Now that's what I'm talkin about!"

With the demons weakness revealed, it didn't take long to bring the fight to an end. Mana spun in a wide circle firing bullets into the creature's gems with impossible accuracy. Setsuna used her Shinmei techniques and Gotokuji used his May Law Fu Lau style to destroy the creatures. When the battle was over; the exhausted warriors gathered around Negi. He had lost consciousness and his breathing was almost none existent.

"What happened to him?" Mana asked.

Ku Fei shook her head. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "He… he got hurt because of me."

Setsuna and Asuna immediately jumped to comfort the distraught girl. Mana and Gotokuji got closer to look at Negi.

"Is he gonna be alright?!" Gotokuji asked breathlessly.

Konoka shook her head and began to cry as well. "I don't have my artifact. I can't heal this."

"I don't know anything about artifacts. And I have no idea what's just happened. But I do know he needs help." Gotokuji bent down and picked Negi up.

Mana nodded. "Come on everyone. Follow me." She hurried off through the woods with Gotokuji close behind her. The others followed him, all fearing the worst.

* * *

A cloaked figure stood alone on a nearby mountaintop. He had watched the entire fight before him with sheer amusement. He could feel a presence behind him and smirked maniacally. "Did you complete your jobs?" He asked in a deep snake like voice.

"Yes sir!" Mizuho replied with an energetic salute.

"What about you Kuze?"

The cloaked mage from earlier lowered his hood to reveal unnatural blue eyes and frost blue hair. "I did my job," he responded coolly. "That Shinmei girl slowed me down. She's probably dead about now."

"Excellent."

"…There is one thing. Negi Springfield has managed to meld almost perfectly with the demon Kakos. I don't think my attack killed him."

"Good," the cloaked figure replied. "The demon is no concern of ours. And master does not want the boy dead. Not yet."

"We'll have to lie low for awhile," Mizuho said edgily.

The cloaked figure opened a portal in thin air. "A small set back." He stepped through the barrier followed closely by his subordinates.

Their plan was set into motion. Their master would be pleased. Now all that had to be done was to set a slow and unpredictable pace. Finally, after all of these years, they would have their vengeance.

**End Chapter

* * *

**

**Wow! I would have been done with this chapter a day ago if I didn't have to help watch my little cousin. Anyways, hit the review button. It's the only thing keeping me safe from Chachazero! Till next time!**


	13. Chapter 13: My Feelings For Who!

**Well last chapter was kind of hectic wasn't it? All that back and forth…I liked it! Thank you all for reviewing. Here's the next chapter! Also I just realized that I've been getting Chisame's hair color wrong. From now on I shall use the right color which is a bright orange.**

**Me: Kamo-kun, why don't you read the disclaimer for today?**

**Kamo: Right boss! Mako does not own Negima! Now if you'll excuse me I have to go and sell Ane-san's panties online.**

**Asuna: Has anyone seen my pink panties?**

**Kamo: I'm outta here! (Hands me the panties and runs)**

**Asuna: Ah Ha! (Takes out Harisen)**

**Me: No! No! It's not (Thwap!)**

**CHAPTER 13: My Feelings for Who?!

* * *

**

"Damnit!"

Negi dropped his pen for the third time that day. He looked up and saw his students looking at him in concern. He smiled sheepishly at them and looked back down at his desk. It had been two long days since their fight with the demons. Still his body was racked with pain, it turns out there was some damage done to his nerves. Konoka was in the process of healing him, but it would take a little while longer. Negi frowned at the position he had been put in by this sudden attack. Whatever they were doing there they wanted him. Or at least that mage in the cloak did. Who was that guy anyways? Why would he attack Konoka and not go straight for him. More importantly, what did that guy want with him.

His brown eyes fluttered closed in thought. He tried for the millionth time to remember that day; nothing that could help him came to mind. He remembered Gotokuji showing up and getting stabbed. After that it was all black. When he woke up the next morning he was in the Tatsumiya shrine. The others were there as well, waiting for him to wake up. When he woke up he was lying on a bamboo mat. On either side of him on similar mats were Kotarou and Tsukuyomi both of them looked worse than he did? Mei told him the story about what had happened to Kotarou. Luckily for both of them, Takane showed up and with Chibi Setsuna's help they were able to find the shrine. Kotarou had woken up later the same day and they were able to go back to the dorms. Tsukuyomi hadn't been so lucky.

Negi looked up at the empty seat in the back and sighed. It had been two days since the attack and the blond Shinmeiryuu hadn't woken up yet. In fact when Mana and Setsuna had found her she was already half dead. Konoka blamed herself for Tsukuyomi's condition. In front of the others she acted like nothing was wrong, but at Negi could hear her cry in her sleep. He hated that anyone of his students ever had to get hurt. Asuna was fine except for a particularly large bite wound on her shoulder. At the time she had been afraid that she would get some kind of demon rabies. Setsuna had gotten her mid-section cut open pretty badly and Konoka had a few scratches here and there. When Takane appeared at the shrine she was covered in burns and Mei's shoulder had been sliced open pretty badly. Mana and Gotokuji had received the least amount of damage, just a few deep scratches here and there. He hadn't seen Gotokuji since he woke up at the shrine.

The person that he was most worried about now was Ku Fei. She had managed to come out of the fight with a few scratches and a bruised throat. However, it wasn't her injuries that concerned Negi the most. It was the way she blamed herself for his injuries. If it wasn't for him she wouldn't even have been put in that situation in the first place. Besides he was the one that decided to take the hit for her. He didn't even have to think about it; he just jumped into the action. He had never been that impulse before but when it came to the thought of losing her his mind went blank and he kicked into overdrive. He looked up at the sleeping girl and shook his head in amusement. He could never say it out loud, but he knew he would do anything for her.

A knock on the door caught his attention. Shizuna popped her head in the door and smiled at him. "Negi-kun, there's someone from the high school to see you. He says it's about your brother."

"My brother?" Negi asked. _'Since when do I have a brother? Well I better take care of it.' _"Will you watch the class for me Shizuna-sensei?" He used the edge of the desk to pull himself to his feet.

"Of course." Negi walked past her and gave her a smile. "Watch out for the twins. They're in full throttle today." He walked out side and stopped. "Gotokuji-san?"

Gotokuji smiled back at him. He was dressed in the black high school uniform. His usual hairstyle and nice guy smile were in place. "Hey Negi-kun. Sorry about that but it was the only they would let me see you. How are you feeling?"

Negi nodded and smiled. "I'm doing just fine. Listen, I owe you one for the other day. If you hadn't showed up to help we might have been in serious trouble."

"No thanks necessary. Just fill me in on what's been happening."

Negi nodded. "I guess that it's the least I can do. Come on, the class next door is empty." Negi walked into the class followed by Gotokuji.

* * *

Asuna watched Negi leave the room with a distinct frown. She never heard him talk about a brother before. "Do you guys think that this weird?" she asked.

She looked at Konoka on her right and Setsuna on her left. Neither of them answered her or gave any sign that they even heard. In fact the two of them haven't said a word to one another since the day at the shrine. Asuna frowned. Apparently the two of them still weren't over the fight they had at the shrine.

**Flashback**

_Asuna woke up with a long yawn. After the fight ended they had spent the night at the shrine. With Mei, Kotarou and Takane showing up it had gotten rather crowded. She rolled over and saw Ku Fei sleeping next to Negi's mat. Asuna took a moment to take in the cute scene before propping herself up on her good arm. Some fresh air would do her some good. She got up and walked out of the room, careful not to step on anyone on the way out. Out in the hall she saw Chibi Setsuna peering in through a door that had been cracked open._

"_What are you doing up Chibi-"_

_Chibi Setsuna shushed her and motioned her to come closer. "Look," she whispered. Asuna walked up to the floating girl and peeked through the crack in the door. Setsuna and Konoka were inside arguing fiercely. "They've been arguing for ten minutes," the chibi said sadly._

"_Ojou-sama I thought I told you no to go on any patrols!" Setsuna all but shouted._

_Tears welled up again in the brunettes eyes. It was her fault that Tsukuyomi was hurt and now Setsuna was yelling at her. "I'm sorry! I-I just wanted to see what it was like."_

_Setsuna rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Why can't you just do what I told you to? I've done my best to protect you and take care of you. But you never listen to a word that I say. If you really are my friend then you should let me do my job!" She ran her hand irritably through her hair._

_Konoka rubbed the frustrated tears from her eyes and glared at Setsuna. "How do you think it make me feel when you treat me like a child?! I'm a big girl now Secchan!"_

"_Then maybe you should grow up and act like it," Setsuna replied irritably._

"_If you are my friend then why don't you ever act like it?! How come you never want to have any fun with me? Why are you always so tough on me?" Setsuna didn't answer, all she wanted was to be with Konoka. But she couldn't do that. "Why is it Secchan?! Because you feel that you owe my father?!"_

"_It's because I l-" Setsuna caught herself and took a deep breath. "This is a childish argument," she said calmly. "Someone as perfect as you could never understand." She turned around and decided to walk away before she said something that she would really regret._

"_I do understand!" Konoka called after her. Tears started to fall unchecked from her coffee colored eyes. "You don't have to worry about your debt to my family anymore! And I don't want you to protect me anymore!_

_Setsuna froze and her hand clenched into a tight fist. Instead of saying anything she continued right out the front door of the shrine. Konoka fell back against the wall and cried into her hands. Chibi Setsuna also began to cry and grabbed onto Asuna._

**End Chapter**

Asuna sighed. She hadn't really wanted to overhear their fight. All she wanted to do was go and get some air. What's worse was that there was nothing she could do to help them. This was something they had to fix on their own. A hand on her shoulder made her jump. She turned around and saw Chisame staring back at her.

"What's going on around here?" She asked curiously. She knelt down beside the desk and looked at Asuna. Having Shizuna watch them was great; she would let them do just about anything. "Everyone looks really tired, even Baka Yellow. Did something happen? Not that I care of course."

Asuna smiled at her and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "We had a little demon problem," she whispered.

"Are you okay?" She asked before she could stop herself. She blushed and shook her head. "I mean, you know, j-just…"

Asuna placed her hand over Chisame's and gave it a light squeeze. "Arigatou." She stared into Chisame's eyes and smiled. It was there again, that urge to pull her up and just give her a kiss. To tell her everything.

Chisame dropped Asuna's hand out of fear for what she was feeling. She stood up and cleared her throat, hoping no one saw what had just transpired between her and Asuna. "As long as you're okay." Asuna smiled at her, she really could be sweet when she wanted to. "Sakurazaki and Konoe whatever's happening between you two, get over it. It's annoying!" With that said she trudged back to her desk.

Asuna giggled at Setsuna and Konoka's astonished expressions. "Some things will never change."

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Gotokuji said. He and Negi sat in the empty classroom talking about what happened the other day. Gotokuji had listened to Negi's explanation and wanted to make sure he heard right. "There is such a thing as magic and you are a mage. You went away to train in an alternate dimension and aged five years, also became a half-demon. Those things we fought yesterday were demons and if anyone finds out that you are a mage you'll get turned into an ermine?"

Negi nodded. "That's pretty much the long and short of it." The only reason he told Gotokuji about being half demon was because he would find out sooner or later.

"Okay," he nodded.

"That's it?" Negi asked. "Usually when people find out about magic they're more stunned."

"Despite what I may look like, I'm no fool," Gotokuji replied. He smiled and leaned back in his chair. "The stuff that happened during the tournament was a little out there, even for me. And the battle event on the last day of the festival was even stranger. Only a complete idiot would believe that it all was cg."

Negi laughed. "I guess that's so. I can trust you to keep this a secret right."

"Of course. Anyone that can fight like your group is alright with me."

"Thanks. You know you weren't too bad out there yourself."

"Well after I got whipped by a ten year old kid I had to get better!" The two of them laughed and Gotokuji held out his hand. "Do you have a cell phone?"

Negi looked at him questioningly but handed him his cell. "What are you doing?"

"Putting my number in," he said pressing a few buttons. "If you ever need someone to help bust some demons skulls or just need someone to get weird with. Give me a call." He handed Negi's phone back to him.

Negi took the phone back and smiled. "Arigatou Gotokuji-san."

"Call me Kaoru," he said.

Negi gave him his number and they talked for a little while. Kaoru looked at his watch and sighed. "I think we better get back to our classes."

Negi sighed. "You're probably right." They stood up and walked out of the room. "Thanks again, for everything."

"No problem. Remember, I'm just a call away if you need back up."

"Same here." The two men shook hands and went their separate ways. Just as Negi was about to open the door the bell rang. "Aw man."

Shizuna stepped from the room and smiled at him. "You were gone for a long time. Is everything alright?"

"Y-yes!"

"How's your brother?"

"My brother?" He asked in confusion. "Oh! My brother! Yes, he's fine; he j-just got into trouble again. He always does."

"O-okay. Don't forget the meeting we have tonight."

"I won't." Negi waved goodbye to her. He was about to walk back in the classroom but had to doge the rush of girls. The girls all said goodbye to him and the halls filled with students. He jumped back into his class to avoid the rush. "Man that was close."

"Are you okay?"

Negi turned around and smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

Ku Fei frowned. "Really? You were gone from class a long time."

"Oh I was just talking to Kaoru-kun. We have a new ally!" He said brightly.

"That's good. I guess I better go." She turned to leave but Negi grabbed her hand. She stopped and turned around to look at him.

"I am okay." He said with a nod. "Are you going to come to dinner tonight? We have to do something about Konoka-san and Setsuna-nee."

"I'll be there." She gave his hand a squeeze and reluctantly let go. "I have to go. Have something I have to take care of."

Negi sighed and watched her leave the room. Every time that happened he would kick himself for his feelings. And not saying anything to her. "That was pretty pathetic Negi."

Negi wheeled around and saw Asuna smirking at him. "As-Asuna-san?! What are you doing here?! Class is over!"

"I know," she replied innocently. "I had something I wanted to talk to you about. But I think that this is more interesting."

"There is nothing going on between me and Ku-chan," he said firmly.

"I never said there was." He groaned, making her smirk evilly.

Negi turned around and shut the classroom door. He changed himself into a teenager and ran a hand through his hair. "If you want to talk let's talk."

Asuna nodded slowly. There was something about that slightly deeper, yet mellow tone that made her obey. She sat down on the edge of his desk and rubbed her arm bashfully. Seeing that she was having some trouble Negi walked over and sat beside her on the desk.

"Go ahead." He smiled at her. "You can tell me anything."

Asuna smiled shyly back at him. "Well you see, I have a crush on someone and I don't know how to tell them. I could use some advice." She wrung her hands together nervously.

"I thought you already told Takamichi how you feel."

"It's not Takahata-sensei. And thanks for bringing that up," she grumbled.

"Heh sorry! Why don't you tell me what this person is like?" He folded his arms over his chest and propped a leg up on his chair.

"How to start? Well, this person is really complicated. Sometimes it's really hard to tell what my crush thinks of me and other people. It's almost like they don't want to have any friends. But on second thought this person is really smart, sweet, and fun despite the fondness for horror movies."

Negi chuckled. He knew how much she hated horror movies. "Okay. No what's her name?"

Asuna blushed and stared at Negi. "How did you know it was a girl?"

"You never said 'he' or 'him.' You kept saying 'this person' or 'my crush." Negi shifted a little uncomfortably on the desk. Asuna nodded in amazement, he always found a way to surprise her. "Now let me ask you this. Is it Chisame-san?"

"Okay. You're a little too good at this." Asuna blushed even harder.

"Not really. Only someone who doesn't know you would miss the hints."

"Oh. M-maybe I should go!"

"Don't get embarrassed in front of me. I have seen you naked remember?" Asuna punched him in the head. "Sorry."

Asuna shook her head. "I've been feeling weird ever since Kamo pointed out that I might have a crush on her. So I thought that it was just because he said something. So to make sure I kind of asked her out."

"You asked her out?"

"Yeah but not on a date. Everyone was out training, so I thought it would be a good idea to spend some time with her. Maybe get to learn more about her. I had a lot of fun. And I get this really warm feeling when I'm around her."

Negi sighed and lay back on his desk. "So if you like her then I don't see what the problem is."

Asuna shook her head sadly. "Still a kid even as a teenager. Wh-what if she doesn't like me back? More importantly what will everyone else think?" She lay down next to him and sighed.

"Hn. I never thought of you as that type of person."

"What type?"

"The type of person who would sacrifice her happiness for society." Asuna turned her head and gave him a questioning stare. "Society expects you to act and live a certain way." He closed his eyes as if he had practicing this speech for a long time. "Most people want to please society and forget their own happiness. You yourself want to be happy and please society at the same time. In your situation that's impossible. So you can make yourself happy or you can make society happy. It's your choice."

Asuna's mismatched eyes began to tear up. "…I'm scared."

"Do you like her Asuna?"

"Yes," she answered emphatically.

"Does she like you?"

"Sometimes I think that she might."

"…Would being with her make you happy?"

"…Yes."

Negi smiled and leapt up from the desk. "Well in the immortal words of a great poet, 'Society should work for the happiness of its people. Not the other way around. Fuck society."

Asuna looked up at Negi. He only cussed when he was really upset. Even then it didn't happen very often. "Negi…you-you don't hate me. Do you?" She asked fearfully.

"Asuna I could never hate you," he replied softly. "And if you still need some advice I'm going to give it to you." He took a pen out of his pocket and tore a sheet of paper from her notebook. He scribbled a quick note, folded it in half and handed it back to her. "Don't read this until you are ready to ask her out again."

Negi helped her off of the desk and she smiled at him. "Arigatou Negi. You are always there for me when I need you." She hugged him.

"Same could be said about you." He hugged her back. "There are always going to be people who might hate you because of who you are, but I won't ever be one of them."

Asuna hugged him harder and wiped her eyes on his shoulder. "I'm glad." She pulled away and smiled happily at him. "What poet said those words anyways?"

"My uncle," he said with a laugh.

Asuna laughed as well. "Wasn't much for words was he?"

"Not really." Negi checked his watch and sighed. "I have to go to the teachers meeting. Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine. A little courage is the real magic after all."

He smiled and kissed her on the cheek, making her blush a little. "Just read the paper and you'll do fine." He turned back into a kid and hurried for the door. "You better tell me how things turn out."

"I will." She waved goodbye to him and sat back down on the desk. "I guess it's all up to me." She stared at the paper in her hands. Whatever it said, she hoped that it was good.

* * *

"Are you sure that Asuna-san said she wanted to train?" Setsuna asked.

"Yep! Very sure!" Chibi Setsuna replied. She looked around the halls from her spot on Setsuna's shoulder. "Where are they?"

"They?"

"I mean her!"

"What's going on?" Setsuna stopped and stared sternly at the dim witted chibi.

Chibi Setsuna started to panic. "I-I…what I mean I-"

"You lied to me Kamo-kun!"

Setsuna turned around. She saw Konoka standing in front of her, glaring down at the ermine on her shoulder. "You set me up!" Setsuna growled.

"Heh heh! Y-yeah." Chibi Setsuna blushed nervously.

"We got together and decided that you two needed to work things out," Kamo replied.

"I don't want to talk to her!" Konoka crossed her arms childishly across her chest. "I'm still mad at her!"

"I don't want to talk to her either."

Kamo watched Chibi Setsuna fly off Setsuna's shoulder and carefully open a door. "NOW!" Kamo shouted.

The door across the hall swung open with a loud 'BAM!' Ku Fei leapt from the room and pushed the two girls into the now open room. Chibi Setsuna and Kamo closed the door and Ku Fei put all of her weight onto it.

"Hurry!" Ku Fei ordered.

Kamo and the chibi muttered a few words in Latin; while Ku Fei tried to hold the door closed against the combined force of Setsuna and Konoka. Finally the spell was completed and an invisible barrier formed around the door.

"Let me out!" Konoka cried, pounding against the door. "I have to start dinner for tonight!"

There was some more pounding on the door, this time stronger. "You three had better let me out! You're going to be in big trouble!"

"You're not coming out. Not till you make up!" Ku Fei said smugly.

"Kiss and make up!" Chibi Setsuna giggled.

"It's your only ticket to freedom," Kamo replied.

* * *

Kotarou punched the tree again. He felt the wood crack and splinter under his fist. He had been training ever since he got out of school. He didn't even bother going home because then he would have to explain where he was going to Chizuru and Natsumi. It wasn't fair to them. He realized this and he knew that they were just worried about him. But he couldn't let that interfere with his training. Right now the only thing that truly mattered to him was strength. He would train and be ready if that nee-san decided to show her face again. At all costs he would become stronger.

The yokai leapt backwards in series of back flips. He landed off the last one crooked and hissed in pain. It was clear that his injuries were still bothering him. He had a large burn mark on his abdomen, a couple of bruised ribs and of course the gashes on his face. He would probably have scars for life from the facial wounds.

Kotarou built up the ki in his hands and ran towards the tree at full speed. "Wolf-Fang Twin-Palm Impact!" Black energy swirled in the palms of his hands. A burst of pain in his side knocked him off of his feet. He fell forward and hit the ground hard. "Damn! Still not good enough!"

"Kotarou-san you should be resting."

Kotarou looked up and found dark hazel orbs burning into his own onyx ones. "What are you doing here?" _'Damn, I hope that she didn't see that!'_

Mei leaned down and gently took hold of his arm. She helped him to his feet with minimal resistance. "I've been looking all over for you. I didn't really get the chance to thank you for saving my life."

"Mei! Did you find him?!"

"Over here onee-sama!"

Takane appeared from the woods dressed in her usual nurses' outfit. "There you are. Hello Kotarou-san," she greeted in her usual business like tone. "Thank you for helping Mei. I guess we really owe you one."

Kotarou shook his head. "Don't worry about it. She saved me to."

"But," Mei replied sadly. "I hurt you more than I helped. This is the second time you've had to save me."

"No big deal." He gave the two girls a wolfish grin. "Saving pretty girls is my business."

Mei blushed. "A-arigatou. Is there anything that I can do for you?"

"How about you two spend some time together in town sometime?" Takane suggested.

"O-onee-sama!"

"Excuse us for a second Kotarou-kun?" Takane grabbed Mei and pulled her to the side. "Come on Mei, just ask him out. All you've done is talk about him since the tournament. He's cute and he thinks that you're cute, so just ask."

"B-b-but he's younger than I am. A-and what if he says no?"

"I promise you that he won't."

Mei peered around Takane and her eyes widened. "Ah! What are you doing?"

Kotarou looked at the knives in his hand then back at Mei. "Training?"

"You can't train! You have to rest Kotarou-san!" She cried worriedly. She ran over and took the knives from his hand.

"Hey give those back!" Kotarou reached out for the knives but Mei turned so that her body was between him and the blades. "Come on!"

"No!" She kept spinning around in a circle to keep him from the knives.

Takane shook her head at her kohai's playfulness. "Kids," she said with a laugh.

Kaede smiled as she watched the scene from a distance. She was glad to see that Kotarou was starting to have some fun instead of training all the time. "He looks like he's having fun. Aren't you afraid that the little redhead might take him away from you?"

The ninja turned around and smiled at Mana. "No. I was hoping to teach that not everything in life is about fighting. Maybe she'll have better luck."

"That's right," Mana sighed. "Your unwavering belief that there is more to life."

"Besides," Kaede reeled around and pretended to throw a knife at Mana. Out of reflex Mana drew her gun but was pinned to a tree by Kaede's strong arms. Kaede looked down at the gun jammed into her stomach. She smiled back up at Mana's stony face. She brought her right hand up and gently caressed Mana's cheek. "There's someone else I have to teach that lesson to." She leaned in and pecked Mana on the cheek before she let go and walked away.

Mana stared straight ahead in a stunned silence. Her face was heating up and she knew that she had to be blushing. It wasn't like she hadn't ever thought about what it would be like for a girl to kiss her. But for Kaede of all people to kiss her, that was shocking. Even if it was just a kiss on the cheek it had her heart beating fast.

"Kaede," she whispered. The tips of her fingers touched the cheek Kaede had kissed. "Maybe this will be fun to figure out."

* * *

Chisame sighed and ran a hand through her messy orange hair. Finally, after hours of grueling work she managed to fix the bugs in her computer. Just as she was about to go take a shower, there came a knock at the door. She groaned and got up to answer the knock. When Chisame flung the door open she was surprised to see Asuna standing there. For a second the two girls just stared at each other.

"Something that you want?" Chisame asked.

"Something that you want?" Asuna parroted.

"Well you came to my door. I was hoping that you had something in mind."

Asuna smacked herself and nodded. "Can I come in?"

Chisame gestured for to come in and shut the door. "So what's up?" She asked, turning around to shut off her computer.

Asuna reached in her jacket and pulled out the piece of paper. She opened it up and read these words: _You are Kagurazaka Asuna. That's all you need. _She smiled at the simple message written in Negi's neat scrawl. She folded the paper up and put it back in her pocket. The small swell of courage that the note gave her wouldn't last forever. She would have to make her move now.

"Chisame-chan?"

"Hmmm?"

"When we were hanging out the other day I really had fun."

Chisame looked up from her computer and gave her a rare smile. "So did I."

"G-good." Asuna took a deep breath to steady herself. "I-I was wondering if… maybe you wanted to do it again. Like on Friday or-or something?"

Chisame stopped and turned around to look at Asuna. "Are you…are you asking me out?" Her cheeks colored slightly.

Asuna blushed and shook her head. "F-forget I said anything!" She lost her courage and tried to run for the door.

Chisame's arm shot out and grabbed Asuna by her elbow. "Are you asking me out?" Asuna didn't answer. "You know, when you blush your entire face turns pink. It's really kind of cute." Now she was blushing to.

Asuna's whole face turned as red as a tomato. "Chisame-chan I…I really care about you a lot. And I really like you." She spoke so softly that Chisame almost couldn't hear. "Whenever I'm around you I get this weird feeling in my stomach. I know that you probably think this is weird and if you don't want to be my friend anymore I'll understand. I just thought that you should know."

Chisame was frozen to her chair at that moment. "Asuna, no ones ever said that to me before. I appreciate your feelings. It's just that…I'm not a lesbian." Asuna's eyes began to water; she knew that she was going to get rejected. Chisame's hand on her shoulder forced her to look back up. "But I would be lying if I said I didn't feel something for you to."

A small ray of hope began to shine inside of Asuna. "R-really?"

"…Yeah. I don't know what that feeling is because I've never felt it before." She sighed and looked at Asuna. The words she said next would ruin her life or give her a new chance at happiness. "But when I'm with you I feel happy. I'm willing to give it a shot. I want to be happy."

Asuna blushed and shuffled her feet nervously. She couldn't begin to describe the happiness she felt. "I never thought you'd feel the same. What do we do now?"

"I guess we go on a date and see how it goes. Friday at 7?"

Asuna nodded excitedly. "Yes! That would be great!"

"And don't tell anyone about it yet. I-I'm not really ready."

"…Negi already knows," she laughed nervously.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Negi looked around the room and smiled. Konoka and Setsuna were talking happily with one another again. After being locked in a closet for nearly four hours they managed to reconcile. They had also brought Tsukuyomi with them. She had woken up earlier that day and she was the same as ever. She sat by with Konoka and Setsuna, flirting and making them blush. Kamo and Chibi Setsuna were hanging out; st least when Chibi Setsuna wasn't trying to help in the kitchen. And he was making small talk with Ku Fei.

"Negi-kun, are you listening?"

Negi turned his head and looked at Ku Fei's smiling face. "Sorry. It's just that Asuna had something she had to do. I was just wondering how she was getting on."

The door suddenly opened and Asuna skipped in. "Hey you guys aren't fighting. And your awake!"

"we got locked in a closet!" Konoka replied brightly. This caused Setsuna to blush.

"And I woke up earlier!" The blond replied.

Asuna smiled and looked over at Negi. "How did it go?" He asked. Asuna blushed and gave him a thumbs up. Then she made a motion about Ku Fei. In response he picked up a pillow and chucked it at her.

The pillow hit Asuna in the face and fell to the ground. "Negi-kun!" Ku Fei scolded.

A second later Asuna leapt on Negi and beat him repeatedly with the pillow. This in turn left their dinner forgotten. It started a pillow fight that would last long into the night. Negi laughed happily. For the first time since he came back, everything was going just right.

* * *

**End Chapter**

**Well that's the end of this chapter. I hope you didn't expect much. This chapter was just for filler and character development. Anyways hit the review button before Asuna hits me again. I may not be able to update as much because of work and school. Check on Fridays and weekends. I have not give up on this fic!**


	14. Chapter 14: Parents Day!

**Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing the last chapter. Let's get started with this one!**

**Bold italics in the story are characters speaking in English. And please read my end of chapter notes.**

**Me: Chibi Setsuna, can you read the disclaimer?**

**Chibi: I'm not too smart. I don't want to.**

**Me: That's too bad! I have a lollipop! (Holds up cherry lollipop, but it disappears.) Where did it go!**

**Chibi: Mako doven't owm Negima! (Sucking on lollipop.)**

**Me: I gotta stop letting them play me!

* * *

**

**CHAPTER 14: Parent's Day!**

"Now!"

Chachamaru jumped in from the side and kicked Negi hard in the chin. The blow knocked him off balance; Chachazero came in from the side with her large blade. Negi jumped over her swipe and immediately realized his mistake. Evangeline appeared from just above him and slammed a magically powered fist into his chest. The blow knocked Negi to the ground and sent him skidding several feet away. Kamo winced as he watched from the sideline. For some reason Negi was more off his game than usual, something had to be bothering him. Negi rolled to the side just in time to avoid Chachamaru's foot turning his head into slush. Evangeline appeared just above him, pointing a rapier made of ice at his throat. When he looked down hew saw Chachazero's blade poised precariously between his legs.

"Looks like you lose again bouya," Evangeline sneered. She looked down at her disciple in disgust.

"Sorry master." She pulled her blade away so that he could stand back up. He looked out over the ocean of Evangeline's resort with a sigh.

"What the hells got you so riled anyways?"

"Maybe its cause he never gets any sleep!"

Negi turned and looked at the stairs that lead down to the beach. Ku Fei appeared at the top of them with a slightly angry look on her face. She was dressed in her red two piece swimsuit. Negi took one look at her and blushed. He figured that Asuna, Konoka, Setsuna and the other were still on the beach training. Or knowing Asuna, slacking off.

"You should let him rest," the blond replied angrily.

Evangeline sniffed and tossed her hair back haughtily. "You should mind your own business baka! This has nothing to do with you."

"He's my disciple to!" Ku Fei bristled angrily.

"When the bouya is training he should keep his mind on training and not something else."

"Give him a break!"

"No…master is right."

"You got that straight," Chachazero replied.

Negi shook his head and sighed. "I've just been thinking a lot. Like, who were those guys that attacked us? What kind of demons were those?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Not to mention that parents day is coming up at school."

"What's parent's day?" Kamo asked, while Chachazero poured him a glass of wine.

"It is the day that the parents of the students visit the school," Chachamaru replied. "They talk to the teachers in order to check on the performance of their offspring."

Negi grimaced. "And do you know how many parents that is?!"

"Well you'll get some kind of break. My parents won't be there," Evangeline replied. There was a small hint of bitter sadness in her voice.

"Why is that?" Ku Fei asked. As soon as the word left her mouth, she regretted it. She didn't know much about the vampires past, but she figured that her parents had to be long gone. "Sorry."

Evangeline glared back but waved her off. "It's no big. The fools deserved to die."

"Master?" Negi asked. She never talked about her family before.

"If it helps, my parents won't show either." Ku Fei said sadly. She forgot about her earlier argument and hoped to cheer the vampire girl up. All she succeeded in was bringing herself down.

"Why is that?" Negi asked. He knew about Evangeline's situation. Ku Fei on the other hand never told him about her family.

The blond shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the ground. "My parents are all the way back in China." This drew some attention from Evangeline and Chachamaru. "I don't really get to see them much."

"I-I never knew that," Negi replied. He gazed sympathetically down at the girl.

"Daddy's one of the board members and lead designers of Amoi."

Negi and Evangeline turned around and looked at Ku Fei with shock on their faces. Chachamaru also wore an expression that could be described as stunned. Kamo started to drool hopelessly. You could almost see the dollar signs in his eyes.

"Your father is on the Amoi board of directors?" Negi asked. That meant that Ku Fei had a lot of money to her name.

Ku Fei nodded. "He also holds a lot of shares in the company." The smile faded from her face. "Because of his position, he doesn't have much time for…other things."

Negi started to say something, but Evangeline interrupted. "Let's continue training," she said firmly. "Were going one on one.

"…Yes master."

"This times no holding back."

Negi looked back at Evangeline. Ku Fei seemed to forget her father and focused on the challenge. "Bad idea Eva-chan."

"And why is that?!" Evangeline snarled. "Do you think he can beat me? No holding back bouya. Use everything accept for the demon to help you. You have to learn independence from him." Evangeline transformed into her adult form in front of their eyes. "I suggest you grow up for this fight as well."

"Are you sure about this master?" Negi turned into his teenager form in order to even it out.

"Don't worry Aniki. I'm sure you won't hurt her too badly," Kamo laughed.

"I'm more worried about me getting hurt!"

Evangeline leapt at him curling her right hand into a fist. Negi's hand shot out and curled around her wrist. He grabbed her and pulled her down low; he raised his knee to hit her in the face. Evangeline rolled to the side and pulled Negi down with her. She planted her foot into his stomach, rolled through and used her momentum to toss him into the air. Negi twisted in the air and planted his feet on one of the surrounding pillars. Negi kicked off of the pillar and launched himself into a spinning kick. His foot connected with the back of Evangeline's head and sent her tumbling to the ground. She struggled for a second and then collapsed.

"Master!" Negi almost ran to check on her, and then stopped. Evangeline's body turned into bats that fluttered off into the sky. "Son of a bit-"

A foot connected hard with Negi's chin, knocking him high into the air. He looked down and saw Evangeline just in front of him. She charged her hand with magical energy and hit him hard in the chest. The force of the blow knocked him from the courtyard to the beach below.

* * *

"Here it comes!" Setsuna stuck out her leg and tripped the young girl beside her. She stuck out her arms and caught the beach ball. "And a point for me." She tossed the ball over to Kaede.

Tsukuyomi glared up at Setsuna from the water. "That was cheating senpai," she pouted.

"I know. Here, let me help you up."

Tsukuyomi pouted and turned her head away from Setsuna. "No." She pouted cutely.

"Come on! Stop being such a damn baby," she scolded playfully. Tsukuyomi placed her hand in Setsuna's and shrugged her shoulders. She gave a sharp yank and pulled Setsuna down into the water.

"Hey!"

Tsukuyomi placed her hands on Setsuna's shoulders. "Alls fair in love and war. And this isn't love." She drew closer to the brunette and licked her lips. "Or maybe it is." She leaned in to kiss Setsuna, but a large splash caught her attention.

Negi hit the surface of the water hard. He could feel his mouth fill with the salty seawater. He pushed himself up to the surface and looked around wearily. That blow had really knocked him for a loop. He could see Setsuna, Asuna, Konoka and Kaede swimming towards him. Chisame, Kotarou, and Tsukuyomi watched him from the shore.

"Are you alright Negi-bozu?" Kaede asked worriedly.

"Just fine." His eyes searched the skies wearily.

"What are you looking for?"

"That!" Negi built up some magic in his feet and launched himself from the water. The girls followed him and saw Evangeline floating in the air. "I admit you caught me off guard with that attack."

Evangeline snickered at him. "If that's the best you got, you have a long way to go." A sword of ice appeared in her hands, shimmering against the sunlight.

"We'll see just how well I can do." Orbs of translucent fire appeared around Negi's entire body. He fired the orbs out I front of him. The orbs grew bigger and remained suspended in midair.

"Pathetic!"

Evangeline shot forward at incredible speed, poised to attack. Negi smirked. _'Just a little further. There!'_ Evangeline flew into the sphere's being careful not to touch any of them. When she saw Negi's smirking face her eyes widened. Negi raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The orbs began to explode into bursts of fire. The explosions engulfed Evangeline, knocking her from the air with a cry of pain. Negi smirked until a whistling sound reached his ears. Evangeline's sword flew straight at him through the smoke filled air. Negi tried to dodge but it was too late. The sword sliced open his shoulder, knocking him out of the air as well. He tucked into himself and landed on the top of the water.

"Not bad bouya!" Negi looked up and saw Evangeline standing on the water also. She looked impressed but still wore her smirk of superiority. "Perhaps you aren't a complete waste of space after all. Too bad I have to humiliate you in front of your friends."

Negi looked behind her and saw the girls all lined up on the beach and cheering for him. Ku Fei, Kamo, Chachamaru and Chachazero had joined them.

Negi stood up and ignored the pain in his shoulder. "It's not over yet."

"It will be after this." A large amount of lightning appeared in Evangeline's right hand. The energy crackled and flared with power.

Negi placed his hand above his head and copied his master. The only difference was that his lightning was white instead of blue. Both of them smiled at one another and used a Shundo. They swung their arms out; each one of them fired a blade of pure lighting at each other. The blades clashed in the air creating a deafening bang, followed by an explosion of brilliant light and color. The onlookers shielded their eyes from the light and smoke. They could see anything through the thick grey clouds. When the smoke cleared, the winner of the match was revealed.

Negi was pinned down firmly in the shallow waters with Evangeline straddling his chest. Waves of crystal blue water washed over them. Pools of sapphire blue stared down into orbs of dark brown. This was just like the time she had kissed him on this very beach. Everyone watched the mages in anticipation.

"You held back," Evangeline growled angrily.

"I did not!" Negi glared defiantly up at her.

"Don't give me that! I saw you hold back on your follow up attack. I may look like a fragile doll but I am no such thing!"

"Maybe that was the best I could do!" As much as Negi hated to admit, she had him dead to rights. He had held back on his follow up for fear of injuring her. Now she had him locked to the ground.

"You should let…" Asuna started to walk up to them but was stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder. Chisame shook her head and gave her a small pat.

"You told me that you are as strong as Imma." Evangeline scoffed at her own statement. "But when you hold back like that, you disgrace him and his training." She grabbed Negi by the front of his wet shirt and pulled him up so that his face was closer to hers. "But more than that, you disrespect me! You have to stop thinking you can get by just because you look like him!" She pulled Negi's head up and smashed her lips against his. The others stared on at them in horror. Finally Evangeline released the lip lock and shoved him back to the ground. "Don't ever disrespect me again."

Evangeline got back up and walked away, turning back to her true form. The girls cleared a way for her so she could get to the stairs. Negi stared up at the calm blue sky. He could still feel the waves washing over him. His body felt all tingly after the kiss and his heart was beating a mile a minute. He turned over and saw Evangeline walking up the stone steps with Chachazero. An unexplainable anger boiled over in the young mage and it only got worse with the looks of pity from his partners. Negi cursed loudly and slammed his fist into the wet sand. He had had enough of the vampire's attitude.

* * *

"I don't understand how she can do that to me!" Negi griped.

He was back in his dorm now and he was still angry over what Evangeline said to him earlier. Chisame stared at him from her spot on Asuna's bed. She was slightly amused at her sensei's anger. At the same time she was also annoyed by his childish obsessing. Asuna was taking a shower and changing. Setsuna and Ku Fei stopped to do the same and were going to meet them for dinner. Konoka had to attend her fortune telling club for awhile. Tsukuyomi smiled and threw on her cloak.

"You mean the way she can just completely humiliate you in a second. Or the way that she makes you feel like a man, while at the same time humiliates you with your girlishness?"

"Why haven't I spoken to you before?" Chisame asked gleefully.

"I'm not sure. I have to go out on patrol now, but I'll be back for dinner!" She waved goodbye to them and rushed out of the door.

Just as soon as she left, Asuna came from the bathroom. "Tsukuyomi-san go on patrol?" She asked looking around.

"Do you see her here?" Chisame asked sarcastically.

Asuna smiled and shook her head at her girlfriend's abrasiveness. "You be nice. And what's your problem?" She asked Negi.

"Oh he's just obsessing over what McDowell did to him earlier."

"You mean the way that she emasculated you?"

Negi looked up at Asuna's teasing smile and gave her a fake laugh. "I'm glad that the two of you are enjoying this."

"Come on Negi. You can't expect me not to tease you!" Asuna climbed into her bed behind Chisame. She wrapped her arms around the orange haired girl and kissed her on the cheek.

Chisame blushed a deep shade of vermilion. "Wh-what are y-you doing?! Not in front of sensei."

"No! You need to learn to show affection in front of others! Besides Negi already know everything."

"That's not the point!"

Negi smiled and watched the young couple argue playfully. Asuna and Chisame had been together for nearly three weeks now. They still hadn't told anyone else about the relationship yet. Then again maybe that was a good thing. He smiled again when Asuna gently tackled the other girl to the bed. He never saw his two students happier and that made him happy. If only his romantic life would work out so well.

* * *

"So what's for dinner?" Ku Fei asked.

Setsuna looked at her companion with a neutral face. She knew that the martial artist wanted to ask a different question. "Don't you mean to ask how Negi is doing?"

"Why would I mean that?" Ku Fei blushed slightly and looked at her feet.

"That's it!" Setsuna grabbed the blond and pulled her to the side of the hall. "Ku, you have to tell him how you feel eventually."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me."

"Like you can talk. You'll have to tell Konoka to!" Ku Fei smiled. She thought that she had Setsuna on that one.

Setsuna blushed and waved her off. "I-I don't have those types of feelings for Ojou-sama!"

"Still denying it?"

"This isn't about me! This is about you and telling Negi that you're in love with him!"

"I KNEW IT!" Kamo shouted, leaping out from Ku Fei's jacket pocket.

"Kamo-kun!" Ku Fei cried. "How did you get here?!"

"Well after Evangeline planted one on Aniki, I noticed that you looked a little jealous." He climbed onto Ku Fei's shoulder and began poking her cheek. "I was right about you after all. Whoever, would have thought that you like Aniki as well."

"I-I don't! I mean he-he's just a disciple!" Ku Fei grabbed Kamo and began to desperately shake him.

"ANIMAL ABUSE!"

"Ku calm down!" Setsuna pulled the flailing ermine from her grasp. "Kamo that wasn't very nice! This isn't easy on her."

Kamo looked at Ku and noticed that she seemed a little upset. _'Making fun of Yuecchi was kind of fun. But for some reason I feel bad about teasing master Ku! Maybe I'm closer to her than I thought.' _"Hold still for a second Ku-nee-san." Kamo concentrated all of his thoughts onto Ku Fei. He could feel her emotions spilling out and it shocked him. _'Damn! I had to make sure that she wasn't faking the feelings. And she's not. She would be perfect for Aniki, and I don't mean as a Ministra either.' _

"Kamo-kun, you won't say anything to anyone will you?" Ku Fei asked. She stared at the ermine with pleading emerald eyes.

"…Fine. But you better say something to him soon or may not get the chance." He hopped up on Setsuna's head. "You have a good chance. Don't ruin it."

"A-arigatou."

Setsuna and Ku Fei looked at one another in surprise. Kamo wasn't going to rat her out to the other girls or Negi. What happened to make the ermine so understanding? They would just have to wait and see.

* * *

"Okay, here's how it's going to go!" Negi addressed the class. It was finally the day that all of the other teachers warned him about. The dreaded Parents Day. "Soon the school is going to be flooded with parents and students alike. So I want all of you to be on your best behavior. Fuka-san and Fumika-san, no practical jokes. Do not brandish any guns or swords!" He looked at Mana and his two Shinmeiryuu students. "And Hakase-san, for god's sake, no inventions. Now as for the-"

Knock Knock Knock

"Come in!"

The door to the class opened and Takamichi stepped in. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Of course not," Negi smiled. He walked over and shook the older man's hand. "What can I do for you Takamichi?" Kamo waved at him from Negi's shoulder.

Takamichi cleared his throat. "There are some people here to see you."

"Who are they?"

"I don't know, they didn't say. I told them you were busy but they insisted."

Negi sighed and ruffled his hair. "Fine." He started to walk towards the door. "Watch the class for me."

Just as he reached the door it flew open and he found himself tackled to the ground. The girls in the class jumped up. Takamichi's laughter told them that it was no big deal.

"Anya." A serene voice called out. "I thought I told you to remain composed." A young blond appeared next to Takamichi.

The redheaded girl on top of Negi lifted her head up. "But I was just-OOF!"

Negi tackled the young girl around the waist and squeezed her tight. "Anya," he whispered. "It's so good to see you!"

"Y-you to. Y-y-your crushing me," she gasped.

"Sorry!" Negi stood up and pulled her with him. For a second he just stared into Nekane's sea blue eyes. He couldn't believe that he was seeing her; it was like one of his dreams. He rushed her and threw his arms around her waist. "Onee-chan! I'm so glad you're here! I missed you." Tears were starting to build in his eyes.

Nekane chuckled and hugged Negi back. "It's good to see you to."

"Still the same old crybaby Negi," Anya chided. She picked up Kamo, nuzzled him and placed him on her shoulder.

Takamichi cleared his throat to gain their attention. "This is touching and all. But you have a problem Negi." He pointed at the rest of the class.

Negi turned around and saw that practically all of the girls were standing there. Each of them wore that 'explain' look on their face. Negi rubbed the back of his head in a nervous manner.

"Sorry about that! Everyone this is Nekane and Anya. Onee-chan, Anya, this is everybody!"

"Oh no you don't!" Asuna walked forward and picked Negi up by his head. He started to flail his arms helplessly, making Anya giggle. "You're not getting off with a lazy introduction like that!"

"Asuna just let him go." Konoka walked up and made Asuna lower him to the ground.

Nekane giggled and stepped forward. "You must be Asuna-san. And you must be Konoka-san." She gave the two girls a respectful bow. "I would like to thank you for taking Negi in. I hope he hasn't been too much trouble." She winked at Negi.

Konoka shook her head. "Oh no! He hasn't been any trouble at all. Right Asuna? Asuna?"

"I'm thinking about the question."

This made the rest of the girls giggle and Negi groan in embarrassment. A second later the bell rang. "Right!" Takamichi called. "Girls you know the drill. Negi, get all of your materials ready." With his piece said, he hurried from the room.

"Right!" All of the girls filed from the room, giving various greetings to Anya and Nekane. Negi on the other hand was busy getting some files from his briefcase.

"**_I guess we should go to then. We wouldn't want to be a bother,"_** Nekane replied.

"**_But I want to visit with Negi,"_** Anya whined.

"**_Anya's right onee-chan. You guys just got here please don't go!"_** Negi knew he looked pathetic, but he didn't care. He hadn't seen them in forever and he just wanted them to stick around. **_"It won't bother me at all if you stay!"_**

"**_Good! I wasn't gonna go anyway!"_** Anya said childishly. She took a seat over by one if the windows and smiled. **_"Japan is so pretty this time of year!"_**

Negi laughed. **_"It's actually pretty all year round. Not just in November."_** Negi placed a few manila folders on his desk. **_"Why are you guys here anyway?"_**

"**_What?! Not happy to see us!"_**

"_**No! I-I just meant that it's sort of a surprise!"**_

Nekane took a seat at one of the desks and crossed her legs. **_"Well Takamichi called me and told me that they were having a day for parents. Since I am your legal guardian I decided to show up. And when I told Anya, she just tagged along. She wanted to see you so badly!"_** The blond giggled.

"**_Onee-chan!"_** Anya cried. A pink tinge worked its way onto her cheek.

"**_Well I'm glad you're both here."_** Negi laughed. **_"It's going to be boring today, but if you want to stick around you can."_**

"**_Gee, thanks for the permission," _**Anya scoffed.

"_**A little boredom never hurt anyone."**_

"**_Glad you think so onee-chan. Afterwards I can introduce you to everyone. And we can…catch up."_**

There was something in the way he said catch up that made Nekane think something was wrong. She knew that Negi was at the age where he would hide things from her. But if it was something was really bothering him she'd find out what it was. After all it was a big sisters job to make sure her little brother was okay.

* * *

Setsuna sighed. She walked through the throng of students greeting their parents out on the campus. She hated the parents days. It just served to remind her that she didn't even know her parents at all. For her it was one of the hardest days of the year. The only solace she had was that she would be going on patrol with Mana soon. The gunslinger's parents never showed up either and she never talked about them; so Setsuna never pushed her. Tsukuyomi was also supposed to join them for patrol today; her situation was probably no different from theirs. Konoka went to go and spend sometime with Asuna and Chisame today. Apparently the three of them never had their parents show up. It must have been harder on them than it was on her. Whether any of them would admit it or not, they were a lot more sensitive than she.

To tell the truth, she really wanted to spend the day with Konoka. However, since the argument they had at the Tatsumiya shrine, Setsuna didn't feel right around her. She still had the same urge to protect and be with her ojou-sama. Thing is, that when Konoka told Setsuna that she didn't want her protection anymore, it really hurt the Shinmei swordsman. For some reason it kept her from being too friendly with Konoka as of late.

Setsuna checked her watch and cursed. She was going to be late for patrol and that meant Mana would try to charge her for something. She just made it past a group of students when she heard Konoka call out to her.

"Secchan! Secchan! Look who I found!" Konoka ran up to her. Next to the brunette was a smiling man, not yet at middle age. He had short, but thick black hair pulled back neatly. Glasses framed his slightly pale face and he was dressed in an all black suit.

"Huh?! E-Eishun-sama!" Setsuna quickly bowed down to the head of the Konoe family. "H-how are you sir?!"

"I'm fine. But there's no reason for you to be so formal with me Setsuna-kun." Eishun smiled down at the girl. "You are like a part of the family after all."

"I-I don't deserve such kind words." She bowed her head down again.

"Come on Secchan, stop acting like that." Konoka pulled Setsuna to her feet and draped her arm around him.

"Sorry. Habit," she mumbled.

Konoka gave her a pat on the head. "That's better. I'm gonna go grab something to drink. You guys want anything."

"That's alright."

"N-no thank you."

Setsuna watched Konoka skip off like a little girl. She must have been really excited to see her father. Once Konoka was out of sight Eishun pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Before he could light it, the cigarette was snatched from his lips. He stared at Setsuna in surprise. Setsuna herself stared in shock at the cigarette in her hand.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry. I sh-shouldn't have done that!" She handed the cigarette back to him. "I guess Ojou-sama has rubbed off on me."

Eishun looked thoughtfully at the cigarette and tossed it in the nearby trashcan. "It's alright. I really should quit." He tossed the pack into the trash as well. "Filthy habit." There was an awkward moment of silence until Eishun said, "You don't seem too happy to see me."

"Ah no no! It's not that!" She waved her arms frantically. "I just thought that you would be too busy."

"Well I found someone to replace me temporarily. I wouldn't be much of a father if I didn't show up to at least one of these parent day things. Besides, I wanted to check up on the two of you."

Setsuna smiled shyly. "There's no need to do that."

"Yes. Konoka seems to be doing well thanks to you."

"Well the others helped to. And I will always protect Ojou-sama."

"Arigatou Setsuna-kun." Eishun closed the distance and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You know I always thought of you as my daughter. I hope that one day you can think of me as your father."

Setsuna looked up at him. Tears of joy sparkled in the hanyo's eyes. She had never had anyone see her as a daughter before. "Y-yes. Arigatou."

"Hey dad, are you ready to go?" Konoka popped out of nowhere holding a bottle of water. "I called Asuna and told her I wouldn't be able to make it."

Setsuna's face paled. "What time is it?"

"8:30."

"I was supposed to meet Mana fifteen minutes ago!" She slung Yuunagi over her shoulder and started to turn around.

"Why do you have to go and meet Mana-chan?"

"With all the parents around the principal likes to have extra security. We always do it."

"That's really too bad," Eishun replied. "I was hoping that I could be your father for the day." Konoka beamed warmly at Setsuna.

Setsuna wanted more than anything to go with them. She wanted to be part of a family for once. She knew that it was selfish but she had to at least try. Besides, Tsukuyomi could go with Mana today.

"Well," Setsuna fumbled with Yuunagi, almost dropping it. "Um, I could see if it's alright with Mana." Setsuna pulled out her cell and dialed some numbers. "Hello Mana? Yeah listen, I was wondering if I could skip patrol today…no nothings wrong…what happened? My dad showed up…yeah, you will? Thanks…alright…tell Tsu-chan I said hello. Alright bye." She smiled sheepishly at Konoka and Eishun. "She said she would bill me."

Konoka giggled and looped her arm through Setsuna's. "That's Mana-chan for you. I'm glad you're coming!"

"M-me to." Setsuna blushed.

Eishun smiled down at the two girls, they were only really happy when they were around each other. _'It's something that ii realized a long time ago. I just never said anything,'_ he thought wistfully. "Come on girls. I haven't been here in a long time. Show me around before we have to meet Negi-kun."

Konoka grabbed her father and Setsuna by their arms. She started to pull them excitedly through the crowd. For Setsuna, this was the best day of her life.

* * *

Negi smiled and shook hands with Nodoka's parents. So far he had met with three sets of parents. So far he had met with the twin's father, Haruna's parents and now Nodoka's. All of them had gone off without a hitch. That was he had to assure the twins parents that he was okay with their pranks. He claimed that they kept him on his toes. Nodoka bowed to him, blushing slightly in the process. After a quick exchange of pleasantries they left.

'So far so good!" He turned around and smiled at his sister and Anya.

"If you count the girl with glasses almost mentioning magic," Anya sniffed.

Negi laughed. "Yeah, Paru-san is always like that."

"So she really is one of your partners then?" Nekane asked. "And so is Miyazaki-san?"

"Yep. They've helped me out a lot over the past year."

"My Negi all grown up and making provisional contracts!" She squealed. She leapt up and gave Negi a good squeeze.

"Onee-chan stop! What if someone sees!" Negi whined. Though he didn't really care if anyone saw.

"Come on nee-san!" Kamo cried. "I spend all this time turning him into a man and now you're trying to change him back!"

"Am not. I'm just proud of him!"

"Come on bouya, can't you get a room?"

Negi jumped from Nekane's grasp and wheeled around. "M-master! Id didn't expect to see you! You weren't in class toady!"

"I just decided to drop by for a visit and here I see this disgusting display," she replied irritably.

Negi blinked. Was Evangeline jealous? "I guess I'm being rude. Master this is my sister Nekane and this is Anya. Anya, onee-chan, this is my master Evangeline McDowell."

Nekane blinked twice. "As in the Dark Evangel?!"

"That's right!"

Before Negi could say anything Nekane and Anya had both drawn wands from the inside of their coats. The wands were aimed directly at Evangeline's heart. The doll master smirked and bade them to fight her.

"Stop!" Negi jumped in between them and held his arms out. "Put the wands down!"

"No! Let them try bouya!"

"Put the wands down," he repeated firmly. The tow mages gave Negi a questioning look. "She's a good vampire now. See good vampire."

"I'm not good!" Evangeline shouted immaturely. "And stop treating me like a dog!"

"I'm trying to help you! And like you can talk about treating people like dogs!"

"That's different! You are a dog!"

"What's going on here?!" Anya asked loudly.

Negi looked at them and frowned. He didn't want them to get involved in his affairs with Evangeline. "Could you tow please give us a minute. I need to talk to my student." It had been a week since she kissed him; he had a few questions for her.

Evangeline glared him in anger. Nekane and Anya nodded slowly and made their way to the door. Kamo followed after them. He didn't want to be anywhere near this argument. Negi waited until they left the room and closed the door. When he turned around Evangeline was sitting cross legged on his desk. He ran a shaking hand through his red hair. If he wanted to remain calm he would need all of his power.

"Why don't lay all of our cards out on the table?" He asked calmly. "What you did yesterday was ridiculous. You don't care about anyone as long as you get to prove that you're the strongest."

"I'm the one that's always trying to be the strongest?" She scoffed. "You're the one that came to me begging for training remember?! I'm doing this as a favor to you!"

"CUT THE CRAP!" Negi shouted. Realizing that he lost his temper he took a calming breath before going on. "The only reason that you help me is because I remind you of my father."

"I help you in spite of that! And you want to be exactly like him! It's your on fault!"

"So then why do you help me?!"

"None of your business! Don't think that I care about you either," she chided.

Negi pulled her off the desk and slammed her against the wall. Evangeline was too stunned to move. "I've had enough of the 'I only care about myself' attitude," Negi growled angrily. "You have to care about me; even it is just a little bit! It's the only other reason you would help me…or kiss me."

"Let go of me." Evangeline's voice was suddenly high and cracking. Was she scared, angry or something else altogether. "L-let go." Her stare locked with his and she couldn't find the strength to throw him off of her.

"Are we interrupting something?"

Negi and Evangeline looked at the door and back at each other. "No," he said softly. He let go of Evangeline and smiled. "I'm glad that you could make it Eishun-sama."

"Please just call me Eishun." He shook hands with Negi. All the while his eyes stayed on Evangeline. He had never seen the tiny Shinso so shaken up.

"Shall we get started then?" He led the Eishun and Konoka and Setsuna to the chairs in front of desk.

Evangeline walked behind him and whispered, "This isn't over." The tiny blond walked to the back of the class and sat at her desk.

Negi watched her carefully. He had called her out and now he would pay for it. But right now he had other matters to worry about.

* * *

Chisame sighed and watched all the other students lead their parents around. She had called her mother, but she wouldn't show up. She never did. That was why she was going to spend the day with Asuna today. Chisame smiled at the mere thought of her girlfriend. That's right, she thought of Asuna as her girlfriend. Of course she wouldn't tell Asuna that. Chisame reflected on her past couple of weeks with the baka ranger. They had been the happiest of her life. She would never tell anyone that either. Ever since Chika died there had been a void in her life and finally she had someone to fill that void. That was why she stood here now in the cold November weather waiting for Asuna to show.

"She's late," Chisame grumbled.

"Chisame!"

Chisame looked up to see who had called her. She couldn't believe her eyes. "Mom?" What are you doing here?!"

"Well its parent's day isn't it? It told you that I was going to come."

Chisame sighed in annoyance. "Your right. I guess that I forgot."

"Forgot? Or hoped that I wouldn't show up?"

The young net idol didn't have a comeback for that one. She glanced around until her eyes fell on a man waiting against a wall of the school. He was somewhat tall with long brown hair.

"What the hell is he doing her?" Chisame growled at her mother.

"He wanted to come see you. He is your father after…"

"That man is not my father!"

"Lets not go through this now!" Her mother hissed. She flicked a strand of orange hair behind her ear.

"No! Where was he when Chika-"

"Hello Chisame."

Chisame looked up into the eyes of the man that had the nerve to call himself her father. "Hello…father. Look the thing is that I already had plans."

"Chisame-chan!" Asuna ran towards her dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a fuzzy blue sweater. "Sorry I'm late. I had trouble finding my phone."

"Ah yeah," Chisame responded dryly. "There's been a change of plans. Kagurazaka, this is my mother Hiroko and my father Taro. This is Kagurazaka Asuna my…classmate."

Asuna frowned at Chisame's introduction. Not only was she introduced as a classmate, but she was addressed by her last name. That was something that Chisame hadn't done since they began dating.

Asuna looked at Chisame's parents and forced a smile. Despite her annoyance with Chisame she was really mad at her father. There was a lot that she would like to say to him. "Pleasure to meet you both."

"Nice to meet you," Taro said.

"Nice to meet you dear. I'm glad to see that Chisame hasn't been spending all of her time in her room."

"Yeah. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Asuna pulled Chisame out of earshot of her parents and put on a stern face. "What was that back there?"

"I don't know what you mean," Chisame replied innocently.

"Come on Chisame-chan! First you address me as your classmate."

"What did you want me to say? Hey mom, this is my girlfriend! I don't think so!" Chisame fixed her glasses in annoyance.

"Okay…I can understand that. Couldn't you at least call me by my first name?"

"Come on, don't take it personally."

"I-I just wish that I knew they were coming. That's all," she finished awkwardly.

"You couldn't have known. I didn't tell you that I invited my mother." Chisame mentally kicked herself. She just screwed up again.

"…You knew that they might come and you still didn't tell me?! If I knew then I could have helped you."

"I just didn't want getting worried about things that don't concern you."

"If something is upsetting you then it concerns me! I don't like to see you get hurt!"

"Just drop it okay!"

"No. Tell me why you don't want my help. Maybe then I'll understand."

The net idols hand curled into a shaking fist. "What would you know about it?! You don't even have parents!"

Asuna reeled back as if she had been punched in the face. The world around the two girls slowed down and they were suddenly alone. Chisame regretted what she said the moment it left her lips. Tears welled up in Asuna's mismatched and started top roll down her cheeks.

"…Asuna I…"

"B-baka!" Asuna said tearfully. She turned on her heel and ran back to the school with tears in her eyes.

Chisame wanted to say something but the words were caught in her throat. She stared blankly at the ground. Out of anger she had picked the thing that Asuna was most sensitive about and used it to attack her. What had she just done? Just like that she ruined the best thing in her life.

* * *

"So then they are doing well?" Eishun asked.

Negi, Eishun, Konoka and Setsuna were all out in the hall now. Their actual meeting had ended a few minutes ago. Now they were just exchanging small talk. Just inside the room Nekane was desperately trying to get Evangeline to talk. Needless to say she was failing miserably

"They are two of my better students." The girls blushed from their teachers praise. "They are trying their best to drive me insane though."

"Negi-kun!"

"Nii-san!"

Negi smiled at the two girls outraged looks. "How are things in Kansai?" Negi asked.

Eishun smiled. "Very well actually. There's been a recent rise in rebel factions lately."

"Really?" Setsuna asked seriously.

"Yes. But don't worry; it's nothing that we can't handle."

"I see you're still the same old optimist Eishun."

"Takamichi?" Eishun smiled and faced his former comrade. "You haven't changed a bit my old friend!" The two men exchanged a quick hug.

"I could say the same of you Eishun." Takamichi stepped back and looked him in the face.

"I'm afraid age has taken some affect on me."

"Age affects all of us. Right Negi?" He gave the ten year old a wink. Someone bumped into him pushing him forward slightly. He turned around and saw Asuna sitting on the ground. She must have been in a hurry to bump into him like that. "Are you okay Asuna-kun? Eh?"

Asuna looked back up at Takamichi. Tears were falling unchecked from her eyes. She shuddered slightly before jumping up and taking off again, ignoring Takamichi's attempts at help. Asuna kept her head down and darted past them.

"Asuna-san!' Negi started to go after her but Konoka stopped him.

"Don't worry Negi-kun. We'll take care of her, right Secchan?"

"Leave it to us. Asuna-san wait!" Setsuna called chasing after her. Konoka followed close behind, waving goodbye to the others.

"I wonder what that was about?" Eishun asked.

"I hope that she's okay," Nekane replied. She appeared in the doorway and apparently saw what had happened.

Negi had a feeling about what might have happened and hoped that he was wrong. "Don't worry. Konoka-nee-san has a way of making people feel better," Kamo replied.

"Well I hope so. Since my daughter has run off on me, we should catch up Takamichi."

Takamichi shook his head and looked at Eishun. "Of course. Would you like to come to Eva? For old times sake."

Evangeline appeared in the door way. She rolled her eyes and nodded. "I guess if it means that much to you, then I can grace you with my presence."

Takamichi smiled. In Evangeline that translated as: I would love to. "Come on. We can go to the staff lounge."

Takamichi led Eva and Eishun down the hall. Negi stared after them, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. "Negi-kun!"

Negi turned around and his smile returned. "Ku-chan."

"Was that Asuna. Is she alright?" Ku Fei asked worriedly.

"She'll be fine."

"Good. These are my parents by the way!" She turned and gestured excitedly to the two people behind her.

Negi looked at the two people behind her and smiled. Ku Fei's father was only slightly taller then Negi when he was teenager. He was a very handsome man with thick black hair and a young looking face. From Negi could see her father was about the same build as his teenage form, maybe a little broader in the shoulders. He was dressed in a crisp black suit and dress shoes. He looked exactly like a businessman coming from an important meeting.

Ku Fei's mom was exactly the opposite of her husband. She was dressed in a long silk dress similar to the ones that Ku Fei liked to wear. The slits on either side of the dress revealed long well toned legs. Her mother had a flawlessly beautiful face and dark brown eyes. Long blond hair was tied into a tight bun, a few strands hung down in front of her face. She was shorter than her husband and had to wear high heels.

Negi smiled again. It was obvious that Ku Fei took more after her mother than her father. She was almost the like an exact copy of her mother, except for the eyes. She had the same sparkling emerald eyes as her father.

Negi bowed. "Nihao. Hen Gao Xing Yu Xian ni."

Ku Fei smiled; she had no idea that he knew Chinese. Her father returned the greeting and started to speak to him in Mandarin. Negi looked back at him in complete confusion and held up his hands.

"Excuse me! Uh, that was actually the only Chinese that I know." He admitted sheepishly.

Ku Fei giggled and her parents laughed. "That's okay, we know Japanese," her father replied.

"Thank god. My name is Negi Springfield. Please call me Negi."

"My name is Jian," her father replied. He bowed and shook hands with Negi. "And this is my wife Li."

"Pleasure to meet you both." Negi shook hands with her mother next.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Negi-kun. Ku has told us so much about you, she's very fond of you," Li said with a smirk.

"Mama!" Ku Fei whined and blushed.

Negi chuckled. "If you'll please follow me, then we can get started."

Negi ran through comments on Ku's behavior, attendance, and her interaction with the other students. He really liked her parents. Jian wasn't the man that he had pictured at all. Ku mentioned that he was a workaholic, so he expected the man to be an uptight businessman. But he was rather loose and warm. Li was a lot like Ku in more than just her looks. Not to mention she would embarrass her daughter at any presented chance.

"I'm glad that she has been behaving so well," Jian replied. "She was always a troublemaker for us."

Ku Fei stuck her tongue out at her father and Negi laughed. "Well she's been a great help to me."

"So then what are her grades like?" Li asked.

"That's what I've been waiting to talk to you about." Negi leaned down to get another file. "Ku-chan sit back down."

Jian and Li looked to the door and saw their daughter trying to sneak out. Ku walked back to her seat and sat down. "How did you know?-Aruyo?"

Negi sat back up with a file in his hands. "I know my students. And with the exception of Asuna and Konoka, I spend most of my time with you."

"Good catch Negi-kun," Li said. "Sometimes you really have to keep your eye on her.-Aru."

"She certainly is one of the more energetic girls in class," Negi agreed.

Ku Fei was about to respond when she felt a tugging on her leg. She looked down and saw Kamo signaling for her to pick him. She did as he asked and placed him in her lap. She gently stroked his head with the tip of her finger. _'Maybe I can get a better look from here,' _Kamo thought.

Negi took some papers out of the folder, he never even noticed Kamo. Negi laid the paper son the table. In the corner of the papers were scores marked in red ink that read as: 39, 52, 45, and 27. "These are her scores from before I came here." Jian glared at his daughter, Ku didn't look at her parents and began to whistle absently. Negi smiled and laid out more papers. "These are her scores after I was here for a couple of months." This time the scores were: 63, 67, 71, and 60. "Better but not quite there." He laid out a new set of papers. "These are her most recent scores." This time the papers were much better: 71, 79, 80, 84, and 92.

"I got a 92?!" The blond jumped, almost dumping Kamo on the floor.

"Oh honey I'm so proud of you!" Li smothered her daughter in a hug.

"Why couldn't you do this the whole time?" Jian asked teasingly.

Ku blushed and looked down at her feet. "I-I never worried about disappointing a teacher before."

Negi also blushed and tried his best to hide it. Everyone in the room seemed to notice their reactions. Even Nekane, who was still at the back of the room noticed. Kamo leered at Negi, finally capturing the boy's attention. Negi shook his head and ignored Kamo.

"I-I'm flattered that I've had such a profound affect on you Ku-chan," Negi replied. He looked her in the eyes and smiled, increasing her blush. "But you should be doing well for yourself. And even if you are only in junior high, I want you to consider college."

"C-college?"

"You definitely have what it takes."

Ku Fei stared at him. No one had ever believed in her when it came to school. "I will."

"My little girl all grown up and thinking about college." Jian ruffled her hair as if she was a child.

"Daaaadddyyy!" Ku Fei whined.

The next ten minutes or so were spent in friendly conversation. Negi really liked Ku Fei's parents. They were fun and unspoiled by the money that they undoubtedly had. None of them had a single ounce of pretension in them. They were also funny to; making funny stories, often at the expense of their daughter. Negi smiled as he led them to the door of the classroom. He wanted to keep talking with them but he had other parents to talk to.

"It's a shame we have to go," Li said. She smiled down at Negi. "But I'm afraid that we have embarrassed our daughter enough."

"You're not kidding," Ku Fei grumbled. Kamo laughed quietly and so did Negi.

"It was a pleasure meeting both of you." Negi smiled and shook Jian's hand.

"The pleasure was all ours," Jian replied. "There is something about you that makes you quite remarkable Negi Springfield-kun." Negi looked at him in confusion, but Jian shook his head. "Anyways, I suppose we should be off to meet the other teachers. Thank you again for taking care of our daughter."

"Am I invisible?!" Ku Fei cried.

Li laughed and surprised Negi by giving him a hug. "I hope that we get to see you again.-Aru. It was interesting."

Negi smiled. "Yes it has been. I finally learned where Ku-chan got her Aru from."

"Actually Li got that from Ku," Jian replied. "We don't know where she picked it up." He smiled and waved a hand as he walked out of the room. "Li…come!"

"Yes husband," Li sighed in an overly girlish way. She winked at Negi and followed Jian out of the room.

"I am so embarrassed.-Aru."

Negi laughed. "I think your parents are really charming."

"They think your're charming to."

"So do (cough) es she," Kamo coughed, pointing at Ku Fei.

Ku Fei flicked Kamo in the head, nearly knocking him off of her shoulder. "I'm glad they came though."

"So am I." Negi started to walk past, but she grabbed his shoulder. "What?" Kamo scampered down onto Negi's shoulder.

Ku Fei smiled softly at him. "I don't get to see my parents often. Especially daddy. I know that you called them." Negi started to deny it but she held up her hand. "I know you did. "Arigatou." She leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek.

"Ku?"

"Coming daddy!" She gave Negi a shy smile and ran out of the room. _'I DID IT!' _Her mind cried.

Negi stared after her. He heat flared throughout his body and his heartbeat quickened. A small smile appeared on his face. He walked back to his desk in a trance and sat down. Suddenly, a day that promised to be long and arduous got a little easier.

Nekane smirked craftily. From her seat in the back she could see everything that had transpired. An evil plot formed in her mind. And it involved her brother and a certain blond martial artist.

**End Chapter

* * *

**

**PLEASE READ THIS!**

**Many people for one reason or another have told me to give up on this fic and start a new one. I doubt I will give up on this one, but I do have ideas for other fics.**

**Negima: AU. Takes place around the medieval times. Two rival vampire houses (haven't thought up names for them yet) met each other in a fierce battle centuries ago. Now a new head of one of the houses is about to wage war again. But when two vampires from the opposing houses meet, will their love save the two houses or tear them apart. EvangelinexNegixZazie AsunaxSetsunaxKonoka.**

**Naruto: Slight AU. Takes place directly after Sasuke is reunited with Naruto and Sakura. After battling Naruto, Sasuke is betrayed by Orochimaru and leaves. It is nearly 2 ½ years later when Sasuke returns to Konoha. With no word about Orochimaru or Itachi, Sasuke nearly gives up hope. But just when you're about to give up, fate has a way of blindsiding you. SasukexTenten ShinoxHinata ShikamaruxTemari **

**Hit the review button and let me know what you all think. Should I quit on this story?! Are these other ideas any good?! Let me know!**

**P.S: what Negi said in Chinese roughly translates as: Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you.**


	15. Chapter 15: Loss of Innocence

**I want to thank all of my loyalists (such as Eternal-Longing, Keikun, The End and Verseus) for reviewing again. I would also like to thank the newcomers to the story (like Kohryu and Elemental Warrior to name a few). Now it's time to get started!**

**Konoka: Can I borrow some money Mako-kun.**

**Me: What for?**

**Konoka: So I can take Anya-chan shopping.**

**Me: Read the disclaimer first.**

**Konoka: Mako does not own Negima.**

**Me: Now run along. I don't really have money right now.**

**Konoka: You lied to me? (Starts to cry.)**

**Me: No, don't cry!**

**Setsuna: Did something happen ojou-sama? (Draws her sword.)**

**Me: Mommy!

* * *

**

**CHAPTER 15: Loss of Innocence and the Matchmaking Onee-Chan!**

_To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower: Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour.- William Blake Auguries of Innocence_

Negi stared up at the dark ceiling of his dorm room. The sun hadn't risen yet and the room was still shrouded in early morning darkness. He turned over on the couch and found himself staring at Tsukuyomi's sleeping face. Kamo rested peacefully on the back of the couch. He turned his head and looked up at his loft. Nekane and Anya were still out cold. A small smile played on his lips when he remembered the look on his sister's face when he told her that he shared the loft with Tsukuyomi. She had mumbled something incoherent and the passed out. Negi rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling once again.

Asuna had already left for her paper route and the others were fast asleep. Negi loved these early mornings, they gave him a chance to think and reflect. He thought about when he had met the parents of his students. Hakase's scientifically eccentric parents explained a lot about their daughter's obsession with science. It was a little awkward when Hakase came in with Chachamaru as her guardian. Then again that was sort of to be expected; at least she cared about Chachamaru. Then there was Asakura's father who had a mild obsession with government conspiracies. One of his favorites though, was Yue's philosophical mother and father. Now he knew where she got her love of books from; her grandfather wasn't the only scholarly type in the family. But what had him thinking the most were the words that Ku Fei's father said to him before leaving.

**Flashback**

"Too bad that you have to leave so soon. I would have liked to talk to you more," Negi said with a laugh.

Jian nodded. "I would have liked to stay longer. Unfortunately, I have a big business meeting in a couple of days."

"Well, I'm glad that you came all of the same. It made Ku-chan really happy."

"I suppose so." Jian sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I feel terrible; I haven't been there for her in the past. And I guess I'm still not."

Negi smiled softly. Scratching his head he replied, "For what it's worth Ku-chan understands why you can't always be there. She loves you and she knows that you love her. That's really all that counts I guess."

Jian stared at Negi in disbelief. He laughed, earning a confused look from Negi. "You really are remarkable Negi-kun!" His laughter subsided and he put a hand on Negi's shoulder. "My daughter really looks up to you and I think you've been good to her. She needs someone like you in her life. Promise you'll keep watching out for her."

"Um…of c-course," Negi replied in a stunned tone.

"Perhaps that the path one is most afraid to travel, is the one that holds the most reward. I think that she chose the right path."

"I'm afraid that I don't understand."

"You will one day." Jian smiled. "I'm afraid that I must be on my way. Till the day our paths cross once again." He held out his hand to Negi.

Negi shook Jian's hand. "I await it with eagerness."

**Flashback Ended**

At the time, Negi didn't really understand what Jian had meant and he still didn't. He wondered if it would ever make sense to him. There was also one other matter on his mind. The nightmare that he had only hours before was still fresh in his memory. It was more like a memory than a nightmare. A clear picture of when he had accepted Kakos' offer of power. He could remember defeating the behemoth and the chimera clearly now. Every move had been played out in front of him as if it were a movie. But why couldn't he remember this without dreaming. He could bring up memories from nearly ten years ago with crystal clarity. So why were these memories so elusive? Only to be seen in the world of dreams. Negi sighed and clenched his eyes to rid himself of his growing headache. He needed a good run to help him think.

Being careful not to wake the sleeping girl next to him, he slid out of bed. He treaded quietly over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of black sweatpants and a grey muscle shirt. After putting on the clothes and a pair of sneakers, he slid out of the room. After leaving the room he made sure no one was around before turning into a teenager. He didn't want anyone to bother him and this was probably the best way to do so. Negi made his way to the double doors at the end of the hall and out into the cold morning air. He could feel some goose bumps forming on his arms. He shook off the feeling and started to stretch.

"What is with these dreams?" He asked no one in particular.

"**_I may have something to do with those," _**said the voice in his head.

"Kakos? You've been awfully quiet for the past few days," Negi replied suspiciously. He bent down and touched his toes. "And what do you have to do with this?"

"**_I'm using my own memories of what happened and sending them to you through your dreams."_**

"So that's why I was calling myself a useless moron in the dreams," Negi said. "But why are you helping me? And why can't I remember these things on my own?"

"**_As our assimilation has become perfect, I think it is best that your memory stay in top shape. For my own benefit more than anything,"_** Kakos clarified. **_"Perhaps the reason you can't remember is because you hate what you've become. It's only reasonable that you wouldn't want to remember the loss of your innocence."_**

Negi stared blankly ahead. Maybe that wasn't far off from the truth. "Can I have some time to think about this?"

"**_I don't see why not. I have more important things to think about."_**

Negi didn't bother to ask. Kakos wouldn't tell him anyways. He waited until Kakos' presence faded completely before standing up and starting to jog. The cold air soothed his mind and in that moment he was calm. Negi had only been running ten minutes before he saw another runner up ahead of him. He lowered his head just in case the other runner recognized him. Suddenly he got the urge to straighten up and look at his fellow runner. The runner was around Negi's age and had similar handsome features. He was just a couple of inches shorter than Negi but they had the same lean build. Just as they were passing one another Negi looked at him. The young man looked back at him as well. The man smiled back at him and winked. For the brief second that Negi took his face off of his path, he tripped and fell.

"Damn." He rolled to the side and checked his knee.

"Negi! Hey, are you okay?" Negi looked up and saw Asuna standing over him. "Are you okay? I saw you take that fall." She held out a hand to help him up.

"Thanks." He let Asuna help him up and brushed himself off. "I was just distracted by that guy back there."

"What guy?" Negi turned around and saw that the guy had disappeared. "There something you want to tell me Negi?" Asuna asked suggestively.

Negi turned around and looked at her in confusion. "Huh?" Asuna wiggled her eyebrows. "No! No!" he cried. "It's just that…he gave me this weird look."

"Oooh Negi has a boyfriend!" Asuna danced gleefully.

"No way! And even if I did it would be one more than you ever had." Negi smirked at the stunned look on Asuna's face.

"What did you say?!"

"You heard me." Negi decided to take this chance to talk to Asuna about Chisame. "Speaking of which, I haven't seen Chiu-san around lately." He noticed Asuna tense at the mention of her girlfriend. "Did something happen between you two?"

"I don't wanna talk about it. I'm mad at that baka!"

"It's already been two days. You can't avoid her forever you know."

"…Look, can we not talk about this right now?" Asuna pleaded.

Negi looked at her and nodded. Whatever the situation was, Asuna was obviously very upset about the whole thing. "Fine. But don't expect me to drop it." He gave her a thumbs up and a smile.

"Stubborn brat," Asuna muttered. She spotted a small cardboard box on the ground and bent down to pick it up. "Negi you dropped your…cigarettes?" She held up the box and gave him an 'explain' look.

Negi rubbed the back of his head in a nervous fashion. "Um…I'm h-holding them. That's it! For Seruhiko-kun!"

"Seruhiko-sensei doesn't smoke."

"Takamichi then?"

"Stop lying to me!"

Negi tried to look for another excuse and glanced at his watch. "Oh look! Were going to be late for class!"

Asuna checked the time on her cell and sighed. "You're lucky. But we will talk about this later."

"Yes mother."

"**_You are pathetic!" _**Kakos scolded.

"Shut up!"

"What did you just say to me?!"

Negi waved his hands frantically. _'It's going to be a long day!'

* * *

_

Negi watched his students go about their work with a smile on his face. For once everyone wasn't all jumpy and on a sugar high. Usually they were more boisterous on Fridays because of the upcoming weekend. Yet, today everyone seemed oddly calm. Then again it could be because one of the central pillars of energy in the class was subdued. Negi's gaze came full circle to rest on Asuna and his smile faded. The redhead stared off into space for most of the class. When she wasn't staring into space she was staring directly at Chisame. It was now more apparent than ever that the two of them had a fight. Chisame likewise stared down at her desk. She never even bothered to pick up her pen and start the work.

The bell rang ending what was, in Negi's opinion, a boring class. The girls filed out of the room one by one, placing their papers on his desk. Chisame was the last one to walk by and didn't bother placing a paper on his desk.

"Chisame-san, could you stay back for a minute please?" Negi asked quickly.

Chisame stiffened and turned around slowly. "What is it sensei?" She asked in a gruff tone.

Negi decided that it would probably best if he just said what was on his mind. "You seem a little distracted in class today." He tried to make it sound like he didn't know anything.

"I know id didn't do any work," Chisame sighed. "I'll try to do better. Can I go now?"

"I wasn't worried about the work. I'm worried about you."

Chisame suddenly felt bad for being so short with him. "I'm fine, really."

"…Okay. If you need to talk, just let me know."

The orange haired girl nodded and walked out of the room. Negi sat back and sighed. Millions of questions ran through his mind at the moment. Why wouldn't Asuna or Chisame tell him anything? Why couldn't he remember certain things? Who was that guy that he ran into this morning and why did he wink at him? These questions and more ran through the young mage's mind. After quite some time, there came a knock at the door. Negi bade his visitors to enter and the door opened. Nekane walked in with Kamo perched lazily against her neck. Anya shuffled in after her looking at some tarot cards.

"Good afternoon Negi," Nekane greeted cheerfully.

"Hello onee-chan. I'm glad to see that you're alive Anya."

Anya cringed at Negi's joke. "Very funny. So I slept in a little."

"A little? You were out all day!" Kamo leapt off of Nekane's shoulder and onto Negi's desk.

Negi laughed when Anya stuck her tongue out at the ermine. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" He asked. He stood up and walked over to the windows.

"Just dropping by to see how you are feeling. You left the room pretty early this morning," Nekane replied. She sat at one of the desks and gave Negi a concerned stare.

"Don't worry about me." He turned and looked out of the window. "I just needed some alone time to think."

"About what?" Anya inquired curiously.

Negi was about to continue when there came another knock at the door. This one however seemed a little hesitant. "Come in." The door opened slowly and someone walked in. Negi's acute demon senses picked up the scent of roses and lavender. A fragrance that he came to know all too well. "Hello Ku-chan." He turned around, some of his smile coming back.

"How did you know it was me?" The blond questioned. Her shimmering green eyes gleamed with innocent curiosity.

"Like I said the other day, I know my students." He gave her a small smile. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but why aren't you in class?"

"Kakogawa-sensei isn't here. We have a free period," she informed him. She sat on the edge of his desk and let Kamo crawl onto her shoulder.

"So you're spending your last class of the day in here?"

"There's something that I wanted to ask you."

"No need to be nervous. You can ask me anything."

Ku Fei glanced nervously at Nekane and Anya. She didn't really want to say this in front of them. "About what you said yesterday. About going to college, did you mean it?"

"Of course I did. I wouldn't patronize you like that." Negi walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You are one of the most impressive and unique people I've ever met. You have unlimited potential. You just need a little more confidence in yourself."

"I have lots of confidence." Ku Fei brushed his hands off. "Like, I'm pretty confident that I can beat you up!"

Negi slipped into his fighting stance. "Try your luck master?"

"Let's go shorty." She slipped into her fighting stance and Kamo snickered.

"Before you guys go at it, could you introduce us?" Anya asked.

"Oh!" Negi stepped out of his stance and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Ku-chan this is Anya. Anya's been my best friend for as long as I can remember." Ku Fei greeted the younger girl with enthusiasm. "And this is Nekane, my onee-chan."

"Onee-sama?!" Ku Fei quickly bowed to Nekane. "I-It's great to f-finally meet you!"

"Calm down dear," Nekane laughed. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well. So Negi, is this your girlfriend?"

Negi started to shake and Ku Fei turned red as a cherry. Anya looked as though she were unsure if she should be amused or angry. For some reason the thought of that made her jealous.

"Wh-what are you? What do you mean? Ku-chan is just my student and my master. We're just friends!" Negi explained hastily.

Ku Fei nodded. "Y-yeah. He's teacher and I'm student. Then reverse it! Then back again! I-I have to go!" The flustered girl grabbed her bag and ran from the room.

Negi, still in a state of shock, was in no position to help her. Nekane looked at Negi then at the door Ku Fei had left through. She gave Anya a quick signal and ran out of the room after Ku Fei. Luckily the younger girl hadn't made it very far.

"Ku Fei-san!" Ku Fei stopped and turned around. Nekane bowed slightly at the waist. "Pleas forgive me. I did not mean to make you so uncomfortable."

Ku Fei waved her off. She still looked a little flustered though. "It's no big. Just surprised me a little." She dropped her head and scratched her cheek.

'_Just like I thought.' _Nekane straightened herself. She placed a hand on Ku Fei's shoulder and smiled. "When your classes are over, would you like to go shopping?"

"Wh-what?" Ku Fei's head whipped back up in surprise. "Go shopping?"

"Yes. I'm still new here and could use a tour. Konoka-san and the others are taking Anya to shop for clothes later. I was wondering if you would like to go with me." Nekane offered her a brilliant smile.

"S-sure! I'd love to!" Ku Fei said energetically.

"Good!" Nekane clapped her hands together. "How about we meet outside of the dorms then?"

"Okay."

"I'll see you then!" Nekane waved happily and ran back to the room. When she walked in, Negi was sitting in a chair and staring at the ground contemplatively. "Anya?"

"What is it?" Anya looked up from trying to gain Negi's attention.

"Could you run and get us something to drink." She pulled some money from her pocket and handed it to Anya. "Just a cola or something."

"…Sure," Anya said suspiciously.

Once the redhead was gone, Nekane turned back to Negi. "Negi? Are you alright?"

Negi looked into his sisters eyes and nodded dully. "I'm fine," he responded in a high pitched voice.

"Really? You know I was just teasing you right?"

"I know." He stood up and walked over to the window.

"Then why are you getting so upset?" Kamo asked. He had picked up on Nekane's little game and decided to join in. "I mean she's just your student isn't she?"

"O-of course."

"Negi, do you like Ku Fei-san?" Nekane asked.

The young mage turned around, his arms flailing wildly. "No! I-I mean y-yes! As A teacher I have-"

"I don't mean as a teacher. I mean as you. Do you like her?"

"You bet he does!"

"Not you to Kamo-kun!"

Kamo climbed onto Nekane's shoulder and smirked at Negi. "Yeah me to! I'm tired of watching you be miserable because you're afraid to tell Ku-nee-san, how you feel. Just give her one already!"

"DWAH?!" Negi cried, pulling a physically impossible facial expression.

"Take it easy Kamo-kun. If you like her Negi, then you should say something."

Negi's face returned to normal. He rested his head in his hand and sighed. "And even if I did like her, why would she like me back. I mean just think about it."

"The question is: Why wouldn't she like you?" Negi was about to say something but Anya walked back into the room. She was trying her best to juggle four bottles of soda. "Just think about it."

Negi stared blankly at his sister and then at Kamo. The ermine gave him a smirk and nodded. Anya offered him a soda and he blindly accepted it. He didn't realize that his bottle was the only one shaken up.

* * *

Ku Fei sat on the steps of the dorm building waiting for Nekane. What could the older girl possibly want to go shopping with her for? Her eyes drifted around, watching the other students shuffle about the campus. She sighed and stretched her arms out. _'She probably wants to talk about the way I act around Negi. I'm sure she's noticed by now. What if she wants me to stay away from him?' _She thought fearfully. _'I don't think that I could. I love him too much! Did I just say love? I mean, I am always thinking about holding him near me.'_

"Ku Fei-san!"

"I wasn't thinking about holding!" The blond cried. She jumped and turned around to face her caller.

"Huh?" Nekane looked utterly perplexed by the girl's outburst. Then again, Negi told her that Ku Fei was just a little eccentric. "Are you ready to go?"

Ku Fei's eyes drifted to Nekane's purse and then her light blue jacket. "Yes." She nodded.

It had been nearly an hour since the two girls left the school. They were in one of the larger malls in the shopping district. Currently they were in a department store. Nekane looked over at Ku Fei and smiled. The young Chinese girl was keeping herself busy looking at a black jacket. It seemed the martial artist was a little nervous about being around her. Nekane hoped that she could get around that, she really wanted to be friends with Ku Fei. That was why what Ku Fei asked next surprised her.

"Why did you want to shop with me?" Ku Fei asked quietly.

Nekane turned away from the dresses she was looking at. "Why?" She asked confused. "Because your friends with Negi. I want to get to know you better. And I was hoping that we could be friends."

"Oh! I-I'm sorry! Forgive me Nekane-sama!"

"There's no need to apologize." Nekane laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "And please just call me Nekane. Sama makes me feel old for some reason."

Ku Fei chuckled. "Then please call me Ku."

"Okay. Try this on Ku-chan!" Nekane stuffed an article of clothing into her hand.

"A jumper? But I d-don't-"

"Don't worry!" Nekane laughed and started pushing Ku Fei into the dressing room.

"But I-"

"No buts' dear. Just try it on." She shoved Ku Fei into the dressing room and shut the door. "It'll look good on you."

There was a moment of silence and then she could hear the sound of rustling clothes. "Are you sure?" Ku Fei asked.

"Of course I am. Now why don't you come out?"

"I d-don't really want to."

Nekane peeked over the stall door and smiled. "You look adorable!" She opened up the door. "Stop being so shy and come out!" She grabbed Ku Fei and pulled her out of the stall. "See you look cute!"

"I look ridiculous!"

Nekane had given her a babydoll jumper to dress in. It was pale pink in color and flared out around the knees. Ku Fei glanced down and self consciously wrapped her arms around herself. She looked so immature and stupid.

"I don't even have a blouse. It looks stupid!" She replied a little louder. "And pink isn't really my color."

"Nonsense, you look so cute."

"You're just being nice."

"Then why are those boys staring at you?"

Ku Fei looked around Nekane and saw a group of boys around her age checking her out. She quickly hid behind Nekane and blushed. She fidgeted nervously and quietly replied, "Poofy dress?"

Nekane chuckled and shook her head. "You're too kawaii. They think that you're pretty. And I think they're right. Boys really like pink on girls you can ask Negi."

(**A.N: I mostly prefer girls with darker tastes. Mostly.)**

'_Negi likes when girls wear pink?'_ Ku Fei blushed and looked at her feet. "Maybe it's not…all that bad," she mumbled.

Nekane smiled. She was already making some progress with the younger girl. And if she wasn't mistaken, it was the mention of Negi that made her like the dress. So far so good.

"What is there to eat around here?"

Ku Fei looked over at Nekane quizzically. "You're hungry?"

Nekane nodded. "Do you know of a good place to eat?"

I had been about thirty minutes since they left the clothing store. They were just walking around the mall and making small talk. A couple bags of clothes swung back and forth in Ku Fei's hands. She had managed to learn quite a bit about Nekane. Most of it was small stuff but she was happy all the same. She wanted to make a good impression on the Welsh girl. It would help her with Negi if she had a better standing with his older sister. So far she seemed to be doing a good job.

"Sit here." She guided Ku Fei to one of several small square tables in the malls eatery. She placed her bags under the table and gave Nekane a smile. "I'll be right back!" She hurried off through the crowd of shoppers.

'_She certainly is energetic. And she seems really nice. But I have to make sure that she likes Negi!'_

Nekane didn't have to wait for long before Ku came back to the table. In her arms was a white box and two cups of soda. She set one of the cups down in front of Nekane and placed the box in the middle of the table. Ku Fei opened the box and gestured to Nekane.

"Go ahead. Take one."

Nekane peered questioningly down at the weird looking buns. "What are these?"

"You've never had nikuman?!" Ku Fei asked incredulously.

"No. What are they?"

"They're buns filled with meat." She grabbed a napkin from the dispenser and used it to scoop up one of the buns. "Here, you'll like it!" She offered the bun to Nekane.

Nekane cautiously accepted the steaming bun and took a testing bite. Her eyes lit up with unseen stars from the taste. "These are great!" She took a bigger bite this time.

"Told ya!" Ku Fei took a bite of her own nikuman and washed it down with some soda. "Nikuman is my favorite food!"

There was an awkward moment of silence while the two girls ate. Nekane and Ku Fei already knew a lot about one another because of Negi. So what was there to talk about? Suddenly Nekane found a perfect subject to set her trap.

"I here that you're teaching Negi Kung fu," she said out of the blue. Ku Fei started from the sudden change in silence. "I hope he hasn't been too much trouble for you."

"Not at all. Why would he?"

"I don't know. I find it a little odd that you would want to train a ten year old." Nekane sipped her soda and gave Ku Fei a calculating look.

Ku Fei went into a nervous habit of twirling her hair around her finger. "I like training Negi-kun. He's more mature than his age." She laughed.

"Well I'm glad he hasn't been any trouble. So how is he doing in his teaching?"

"Very good. We're all getting decent grades now!" She looked around then turned back to Nekane. "He's teaches me magic to."

"He mentioned that." Nekane grabbed another nikuman from the box. "What's that like?"

"Fun, like English class. If I don't understand he takes time to explain. He takes to it like martial arts training."

Nekane laughed. "Negi's been like that since he was a child."

Ku Fei's eyes shone with excitement. She had always wondered what Negi was like as a child. Now was her chance to find out. "What was Negi-kun like? When he was little I mean."

The older girl smiled softly and somewhat sadly. "I was always so impressed. I had never seen a child of his age fight so hard. I guess you know about his parents?" Ku Fei nodded. "He never let that stop him. He had no one but he still fought all the same. What he wanted more than anything was to meet his father. It was sort of like a driving ambition. But he was still just a child."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that he still needed protection. He needed me and I tried my best to be there for him. He was always so serious but still a troublemaker." Nekane laughed.

"Negi-kun?! A troublemaker?" Ku Fei asked in disbelief.

"Yes! He thought that if he got into trouble his dad would come back for him. It was a sweet thought from an innocent mind." She sighed wistfully. "He would get chased by dogs, jump out of trees, pull pranks; he almost even drowned once." She suddenly laughed, surprising Ku Fei. "He was such a kid. Sweet, cute, charming and always playing games with Anya!"

Ku Fei giggled. "I guess he was only around four. But he always seems more grown up than he is. I wish I could see pictures of little Negi-kun!"

"It's your lucky day." Nekane picked up her purse and pulled out a plastic photo holder. She opened it up and handed it to Ku Fei.

Ku Fei glanced at the first picture and smiled. The picture was a much smaller and younger Negi. He only looked to be around five or so. Nekane was unmistakably the girls next to him. Behind them, was who she assumed to be Negi's uncle. The next picture was of Nekane with her arms around Negi and Anya. Then some ones of just Negi and Nekane. Finally, she came across the baby pictures and had to resist the urge to squeal. A younger Nekane was sitting in a chair, smiling down at the baby Negi in her arms. The baby just had a small tuft of red hair on the top of his head. The next picture was another baby picture. Instead of Nekane there was a laughing old man holding Negi. This must have been Stan. That picture of Stan holding a laughing baby made her squeal in delight. Negi looked cute and it ruined Stan's image of a grumpy old man.

"He's sssooooo kawaii!" She cried.

Nekane smiled. It seemed as though Ku Fei really did like her little brother. "Can I ask you some questions Ku-chan?"

"Sure," she replied. She never took her eyes off of the pictures.

"What's your hobby?"

"Martial arts."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Nikuman."

"Favorite color?"

"Yellow."

"How long have you loved my brother?"

"Since the…" Ku Fei looked up at Nekane in shock. Where did that question come from? She could have slapped herself for almost saying that. With a red face, she scrambled to come up with an excuse. "What do…I-I-I mean how did…" She gave up and sighed in defeat. She finally felt all of her feelings rise to the surface and she didn't want to fight it. "How did you know?" She asked quietly.

"It's pretty obvious. I've seen the way you look at him, the way that you act. You're interested in his baby pictures and you want to know what he was like as a kid."

"…I-I'm sorry." Ku Fei looked down at the table in what appeared to be shame.

"Don't be sorry!" Nekane said quickly. "And don't be ashamed either. If you love him then you love him. There's nothing wrong with that!"

"Th-there isn't?!" Ku Fei asked hopefully.

"There's nothing wrong with loving someone dear," Nekane replied with a soft smile. "Did you think that I would be mad?"

"Well, you are Negi's brother. I thought that you might not like it or even like me," she admitted sheepishly.

"Well I'm not mad and I don't hate you," Nekane clarified. "I think it's sort of romantic for a student to fall in love with her teacher. I'm also glad that my brother has someone who cares about him so much." Ku Fei blushed and started to sip at her drink. "Have you told him how you feel."

"No way!" Ku Fei shook her head, her blond hair flailing wildly.

"Why not? If you like him you should say something."

"It's not like I haven't tried. Every time I do I wimp out." She laid her head down on the table with a heavy sigh. "It wouldn't work anyways. Negi would want someone smarter. Someone who reads more and likes classical music. Besides, Makie, Yue, Iincho, and Honya-chan all like him. I'm not even cute compared to them," she lamented.

Nekane gently ran a hand through the younger girl's hair. "Listen to me," she said in a dead serious tone. "You are just as cute as the others if not cuter. Besides us both know that Negi isn't the type to go on looks alone. If you're afraid then I can ask him for you."

Ku repositioned her head so that she could see Nekane. "Why are you pushing this?"

"I like you," the blond replied. Then she smiled and said, "And I think that you and Negi would make a cute couple. Of course, you would have to ask him out first."

"Wh-what if…what if he says no?"

"Then at least you know where you stand. And I have a sneaking suspicion that he wont say no," she said in a crafty tone of voice.

Ku Fei's head jolted up from the table. "What do you mean he-"

"Oh dear look at the time!" Nekane pretended to look at her watch. "We better be getting back!" She grabbed the shopping bags from the floor and skipped off.

"Wait! What did you mean?!" Ku Fei jumped up and ran after the fleeing woman.

* * *

"It's starting to get late. I wonder where they are?" 

Mana looked at Negi and smiled. "Don't worry. Your sisters a mage and Ku can take care of herself."

"I guess." Negi looked up at the darkening sky and sighed. "I guess I'm just a little worried."

"Well don't be. Mana-san is right," Asuna added.

"The ones you should be worried about are already home.-De Gozaru."

Negi glanced over at Kaede. He smiled and nodded. "I guess that's right."

Negi sighed and laid back on the edge of the fountain. Konoka, Setsuna, Tsukuyomi and Anya had come back about an hour ago. They were in the dorm making Anya try on her new clothes, at least Konoka was making her try on the clothes. She was making Setsuna and Tsukuyomi watch. Negi, Asuna and Kamo had slipped out of the room before Konoka could catch them. While they were on their walk the happened upon Mana and Kaede. Negi noticed with a sly smile that they had been spending a lot of time together lately. Of course that could be because they were just part of the Fighting Group. Then again he also knew that appearances were deceiving and decided it best not to assume anything. He stretched out further until his head was almost in Mana's lap.

"Mm? Sorry Mana-san." He smiled up at the gunslinger.

Mana fidgeted slightly. There was something about her sensei in a teenage form that made her uncomfortable. "It's alright. Is there something wrong Negi-sensei. More girl troubles?" She whispered.

"If only you knew anego," Kamo whispered back.

Negi blushed and shook his head. "I have a few things on my mind." Before he could clarify a tune started to play from out of nowhere. It sounded strangely like 'Sympathy for the Devil' by Rolling Stones. "Negi pulled out his cell and flipped it open. "Hello? Kaoru-kun, what's up?"

_"Negi-kun, we have a problem!_ He sounded like he was a little out of breath. _I saw this guy in a cloak. He looked like the guy that stabbed you so I decided to confront him. But he sent some of those demon things after me!"_

Negi sat upright. "Are you okay?!"

_"The demons are goo and I'm fine. But that guy got away. I don't think that he could have gotten far though."_

"Alright then, I'll go and check it out. Thanks for the call."

_"No problem. Be careful man."_

"I'll see you tomorrow." Negi hung up the phone and leapt to his feet.

"What was that about Negi-bozu?"

Negi looked at Kaede and noticed that all of the girls and Kamo were staring at him. "Nothing. I just have to go and check something out."

"Should we come with you?" Asuna asked.

Negi picked Kamo up and placed him on his shoulder. Then he shook his head at Asuna. "It's no big deal. I'll be back soon." Negi waved to them before running for the forest.

Asuna tried to go after him but was held back by Mana. "I get the feeling that this is something he has to do on his own."

The redhead looked up at Mana and nodded reluctantly. She followed Negi's back until he disappeared into the woods. Whenever she had to watch him go like that, she got the feeling that he was never coming back. Kaede put her hand on Asuna's head and gave her a reassuring smile. She sighed; eventually she would have to remember that he wasn't a little boy anymore.

Negi ran as fast as he could through the forest. He had picked up the magical signature almost immediately and was honed in. The signature was strong and familiar. He had no doubt that it was the guy that stabbed him. If he caught up to the man, he wouldn't get away this time. Negi used his enhanced eyesight and found the cloaked man to not be too far ahead. Without hesitation he leapt through the trees and landed in front of the man. In his hands were Thanatos and Fatalis. He held the swords at his side, cutting off his escape.

"What are you doing back here?!" Negi demanded. "Why do you keep coming to Mahora?"

"Because this where the son of the Thousand Master resides," he replied in his silky voice. "Our fates are said to be linked together."

Negi's arm twitched and the wound in his abdomen and chest started to burn. "W-who are you?"

"YEAH! Take off your hood and face us like a man!" Kamo shouted.

"Very well." The man lifted his hood to reveal long blue hair. His bangs hung down in front of ice blue eyes. His eyes had an almost inhuman look to them. "My name is Kuze. Pleased to meet you, Negi Springfield-kun."

* * *

Ku Fei and Nekane walked down the dark and deserted Sakura Lane. Not many students took the road at night because of the 'legends' about a vampire. That didn't bother Ku Fei too much. She sort of had an in with said vampire. Since her discussion with Nekane in the food court they hadn't really talked too much. She would glance at the older girl only to look away when she was spotted. Nekane had noticed the sudden distance as well. She though that she and the martial artist were getting along well. Was telling her to ask Negi out too much pressure? May be she should apologize. 

"Ku-chan I-"

"Shhhhh!" Ku Fei shushed.

"But I'm trying to apologize!"

"Be quiet and don't move!" She whispered harshly.

Nekane tensed. She started to feel a dark aura around them. "What is it?"

"I don't know."

The two of them stood in deadly silence for a few seconds. Ku Fei's eyes widened. She leapt back and tackled Nekane out of the way before she could be obliterated by a ball of fire. The two girls landed on the ground in a tangle of limbs. Ku Fei looked down and saw Nekane rubbing the back of her head.

"Nekane-chan are you okay?!" She asked concernedly.

Nekane nodded. "You saved me."

Ku Fei got to her feet and helped Nekane up. "I wouldn't let my new friend get hurt."

"Isn't that sweet?" Asked a mocking voice.

The girls turned around and saw a man smirking at them. He was maybe in his early twenties with dark black hair. His eyes were blood red and had a strange glow. The rest of his body was shrouded in a black cloak, making it hard to tell what he looked like. Behind him were three other men, their faces shrouded by hoods.

"Who are you?! Why did you attack us?!" Ku Fei asked. She smoothed out the skirt of her school uniform and slipped into a fighting stance.

"My name is inconsequential," the redhead replied. "But if you must call me something then call me Rak."

"Why did you attack us Rak?" Nekane asked. She pulled out her wand and readied herself for another attack.

"Ho, a magic user and a martial artist. This would be interesting, but I'm afraid that my main target is you." He pointed a gloved finger at Ku Fei.

"Then I'll be your opponent." Ku Fei smirked.

"Very well. Begin!"

In a swish of black, Rak jumped at Ku Fei. He struck his leg out in a Crescent Kick. Ku dropped under his leg and pulled her weight into a leg sweep. Rak jumped over her leg and rolled to the side. Using his hands, he launched himself up and spun into a back roundhouse. Ku put her knee up to block and thrust her palm at the back of Rak's head. Her blow fell short and Rak was able to spin to the side to avoid it. The two fighters leapt away from one another and slipped back into their stances.

Rak used the Shundo technique, but Ku Fei was ready. She caught his right arm with her left hand, blocking his attack. She spun her body so that he was facing her back and dug her right elbow into the arms joint. Rak suddenly disappeared from behind her. He spun around in front of her, elbowing her in the face. He twisted his body and grabbed her head with his other hand. A surge of electrical energy passed from his hand and surged through out Ku Fei's body.

"Ku-chan!" Nekane cried. There was nothing she could do. If she used a spell now it would hit Ku Fei as well.

Rak let go of Ku Fei and she started to slump to the ground. Before her knees touched the ground he gave her a sharp blow to the stomach, knocking the air from her. He sank his fists into Ku Fei's stomach at a lighting pace. Rak struck upward with an open palm strike that knocked Ku Fei high into the air. She landed on the ground several feet away.

Nekane started to run to her friend. "Don't move!" Rak's voice froze her in place. "I was expecting much more from you," he said to Ku Fei. "I heard that you were the best martial artist around here. I'm disappointed."

Ku Fei glared up at him. A bruise was already forming on her cheek from when he elbowed her. She tried to stand up, but her body wasn't working. She felt a pins and needle effect that you get when your leg falls asleep. Only the feeling spread throughout her entire body. She tried to get up again but it was hopeless.

"I see you've realized the affects of my attack." Rak grinned maliciously. "It's an electric current that spreads through a person's body and causes temporary paralysis. No incantation required." He turned to Nekane and smirked. "Now it's your turn my dear." He drew a sword from his cloak and held it upright. "I hope you said goodbye to your little brother."

Rak jumped at Nekane poised to strike. Ku tried once again to stand, but it got her nowhere. Her last option was to build up the chi in her legs.

* * *

Negi and Kuze started to circle, never taking their eyes off of the other. "Why are you here for me?" 

"…"

"Answer me!"

"Why don't you find out?" Kuze challenged him. "First tell me. Does this look familiar to you?" Kuze held up a black necklace, at the end of it was a blue charm shaped like a tear. Negi's eye's widened and he felt his body go numb. "I trust that you do then." He threw the necklace at Negi's feet.

Negi stared at the necklace and dropped his swords. He bent down and gently picked up the necklace. "Aniki?" Kamo asked quietly.

The necklace belonged to a girl in his graduating class named Kira. Kira carried this necklace everywhere. If Kuze had it, then that meant that she had to be dead. "Wh-what did you do to her?" Negi asked in a dangerously low voice.

"Not me," Kuze replied. His calm manner didn't fade one bit. "I don't kill children. That was the job of one of my colleagues."

Negi could feel the tears springing up in his eyes. He didn't know Kira too well, but she was a sweet girl and didn't deserve this. "Why would you do this?" He asked in a shaking voice. He could feel Kakos starting to take control.

"If you fight me you may find out. But be warned that your sister and that cute little martial artist are also in trouble." Negi's eyes widened. "So you have a choice. Go and save them. Or you can fight me and find out why you and your classmates were targeted." Kuze smirked. "Beat me and I'll even give you information on your father."

Negi looked at Kuze with wide eyes. He hadn't thought of his father in a long time, not that he had given up either. Now here was this man who claimed to have information on him. On the other hand Ku Fei and his sister were in trouble. What was he to do? Should he give up on something he wanted his whole life for something that he wanted right now?

* * *

"How did you?" 

Ku Fei thrust her palms harder into Rak, making him slide back several feet. Her Shundo worked and she was able to reach Nekane in time. The Chinese girl stood up on shaky legs. Burn marks from Rak's electric attack were beginning to appear on her face.

Rak glared back at her and rotated his shoulder. "I don't know how you moved, but it doesn't matter!"

He leapt at Ku Fei with his blade raised. Nekane called out to her. Ku Fei just smirked and pulled out her wand. "Flans Exarmatio!" A gust of wind sent Rak's blade spinning into the air. In his shock Rak couldn't follow up. Ku used another Shundo and elbowed him in the temple. She struck out with her right hand, hitting him square in the jaw.

Rak stumbled back and had to regain his balance. His men tried to run to him, but he held up a hand to stop them. "Stay back!" He turned and glared at Ku Fei who was doubled over and breathing hard. "So you're no ordinary human after all. You used your chi to mask your magical energy, clever. But I don't need magic to beat you!" He drew a second blade from inside his cloak.

Ku Fei smirked and pushed more chi into her legs to work off the paralysis. She ran as fast as she could to one of the trees, with Rak right on her tail. Just as she reached the base of the tree Rak swung out with his blade, hitting nothing but air. Ku Fei kicked off of the tree and pulled herself into a back flip.

"Sagitta Magica Convergentia Fulgaralis!"

Rak turned around, his eyes widening in fear. _'A delayed spell! Too close to move!'_

He raised his sword in defense but it was too late. The arrows honed in on him; the first one shattered his sword and the following ones hit him dead on. The four arrows that followed hit him one after another; the attack drilled him into the tree. The attack left him speechless and he fell to the ground. Ku Fei hit the ground and stumbled back landing on her bottom.

"Ku-chan!" Nekane knelt down and placed her hands on Ku's shoulders. "You were incredible!"

Ku Fei smiled up at the blond. "Guess I was," she said weakly.

"WHAT ARE YOU BAKAS WAITING FOR?!" Rak shouted. The Sagitta Magica had left him prone and useless. "GET THOSE BITCHES!"

Rak's three counterparts pulled out swords similar to a Katana, but shorter. The first one leapt high into the air and raised his sword. The other two followed after him on the ground. Nekane knew that she couldn't defend herself and Ku Fei at the same time.

Just as the first man was coming down from the apex of his jump another figure appeared in the air. The cloaked man was knocked out of the air. He was dead before he even hit the ground. A black sword dripping with blood gleamed in the moonlight.

"Negi-kun!" Ku Fei cried. The happiness that swelled inside of her couldn't even be described by words.

"N-N-N-NEGI?!" Nekane cried. She stared at the teen in front of her wondering how it could possibly be her little brother.

"Master Ku!" Kamo leapt off of Negi's shoulder and ran to assess the damage done to Ku Fei.

Negi straightened himself to his full height and lowered his blades to his sides. He turned his head around to look at Nekane. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner onee-chan. But I'll explain."

"Look out!" Ku Fei cried.

Negi turned around and raised his sword in an x-pattern. Just as the next attacker was about to strike Negi, a tremendous beam of light crushed him. The attack killed him instantly. "That was a close one wasn't it?"

Negi looked up and saw Takamichi standing on a branch of one of the trees. "Takamichi!"

The last of Rak's men stared hopelessly at Negi and Takamichi. He had no chance at fighting one of them let alone both. "We have to get out of here!" He rushed to Rak's side and lifted his master to his feet. After making sure he had a firm hold on his master he jumped toward the treetops.

Negi and Takamichi gave chase, but there was no point. The two of them suddenly fell out of the air. When they hit the ground it was obvious why. Embedded in the servant's chest was a large metal disk. Sticking out from the disk were large points atop intricate designs of polished blue metal. Suddenly a figure fell from the sky. He crouched down and pulled the disk out, followed by a spurt of blood.

Negi and Takamichi quickly inserted themselves between the girls and this newcomer. "Who are you?!" Takamichi asked. "Are you with them?"

The young man laughed and straightened himself up. "I assure you, that I mean you no harm."

"Wait a second. You're that guy that I saw this morning!" Negi replied. Takamichi looked at his partner but didn't say anything. "I knew there was something strange about you! Are you a mage?"

"Very good Negi-kun," he answered smoothly.

"How do you know my name?"

"Why did you help us?" Takamichi asked. "At least tell us your name."

He looked at Negi and winked. "If it helps you can call me Karasu." Negi's eyes widened. He knew that guy looked familiar. There was just no way it could be him. "See ya." Karasu waved jumped and landed gracefully in one of the trees before disappearing.

"Wait!" Negi called after him.

"Negi-kun!"

"Aniki! We need to get her some help!"

Negi stopped and turned around. Nekane was holding onto Ku Fei, who looked like she was in extreme pain. "Go ahead," Takamichi smiled. "Get Ku Fei-kun to Konoka-kun. I'll take care of the rest of this." He pointed to the bodies lying in the road.

"…Thank you." Negi rushed over and knelt down beside Ku Fei. He knelt down and scooped the girl up in his strong arms. Ku Fei put her arms around his neck and nestled her head into his chest. "Nekane onee-chan. Grab on." Nekane reluctantly did as she was told and grabbed his arm. A swirl of magical energy appeared around them and they disappeared.

Takamichi looked around and sighed. He grabbed a fist full of Rak's shirt and pulled him to his feet. "When I get you alone, you'll wish that you were dead," Takamichi said in his most deadly tone. Rak started to shake and then his world went black.

* * *

Negi walked down the hall towards his dorm room, his eyes once again on Kira's necklace. What the hell was going on? Millions of questions ran through his mind at that moment. Who was Kuze and what kind of information did he have about the Thousand Master? Who is Karasu? These questions and more ran through the young magi's head. The most important one being: Is Ku Fei alright? He looked up and saw the door to his room open up, he quickly stuffed the necklace in his pocket. Nekane walked out of the room and her gaze instantly turned to Negi. 

Negi stared back at his sister. Once the reached the school he had turned back into a kid again. Still Nekane gave him a strange stare. There was a reigning silence. Negi had to say something, anything to break the tension.

"Onee-chan I'm…"

Nekane held up a hand and he became silent. "You don't have to explain anything to me right now," she gave him a kind smile. "I know that you really want to see Ku-chan now." Negi blushed and scratched the back of his head. "You would have been so proud of the way she fought, she was amazing."

"I'm always proud of her!" Negi declared. He blushed again at his outburst. There was a second of silence and his face became sullen.

"Negi?"

"When I saw Ku-chan like that I thought-"

Nekane ruffled his hair. "Negi…you have to tell her. If not now, then you may never get the chance." She backed up and opened the door a crack. "Now's your perfect chance. Don't waste it."

Negi knew of course that she was right. When Kuze had told him that Ku and his sister were in danger he felt his heart jump into his throat. Negi looked at Nekane and shook his head. "I-I don't think I can."

"You're scared. Because if this turns out well then you might lose it. You might lose her. I understand but that way of thinking is so innocent. You can't think like that forever."

Negi nodded. His sister walked past him and patted him on the shoulder encouragingly. Negi sighed and walked towards the room. Now was his chance and he wasn't going to waste it. Nekane was right when she said that it was an innocent way to think. Kakos was also right when he told Negi that his innocence was gone. Negi knew that both of them were right. He twisted the door knob and opened the door. It was time to choose his path. To grow up or take a path of innocence, what would he choose?

_No, it is not our fate but our business to lose innocence, and once we have lost that, it is futile to attempt a picnic in Eden.- Elizabeth E. Bowen_

**To Be Continued

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**That took awhile! My mom's EBay addiction is really starting to slow me down! Anyways Konoka said I can make it up to her and Setsuna by getting reviews! So why don't help me out and hit that little review button. See ya next chapter.**


	16. Chapter 16: Attention!

Attention: Story is on permanent hiatus for several reasons. If you want reasons send an email to my…email address. Sorry for wasting your time. See ya later. Er…eventually. Anyways, I can't continue this particular fic, but make sure that you look for some others I have coming out. I might have a new one by Friday.


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